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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 4 Hansard (10 April) . . Page.. 889 ..

MR HARGREAVES (continuing):

Therefore, the extent to which directions were given by the Assembly were few and far between. They were still there, but they were few and far between. I caution the Assembly very seriously about interfering in the process. I do not think that we need to do that in this case. What kind of precedent is it for this Assembly, as it is being requested to do, to ask the minister to give a direction to the planning people-and this is the important bit-on the basis of a short debate in this house?

I have heard Ms Tucker say that she has spoken to the people involved in this issue, the Swans. I have heard the minister say that the minister's office has been involved with the Swans and others. I challenge Mr Smyth to tell me how many times he has spoken to the Swans on this issue-or Mr Stefaniak, Mr Quinlan or Ms Dundas. She may even tell us later. I certainly have not spoken to them.

Mr Smyth: I spoke to them the other day. I spoke to them last year.

MR HARGREAVES: Mr Smyth is on the ball. One out of 10 is good. Where we have an Assembly being prepared to start saying, "Let's get the minister to exercise his power of direction," we really should be having a little bit more sharing of information than we have now. I do not believe that I have had enough information today to warrant taking that course of action. As I said at the beginning, I do not have prepared notes. I have had no consultation with the minister's office on this issue. I note that Mrs Dunne has been taken in the grips of hysterical laughter and is laughing into the back of her hand in what seems to be an expression of amazement. Let me be clear about that. Ministers do not always talk to their backbenchers about everything that works and moves under the sun.

Mr Smyth: Oh!

MR HARGREAVES: Mr Smyth seems amazed, but he never consulted his backbench, either. Mind you, he did not have much of a backbench to consult. Perhaps the same is the case today. If those opposite think that I am telling untruths, I challenge them to have the courage to stand up in this chamber and say so. I had heard nothing about the content of this issue until I walked into this place today. I knew nothing about the content of this issue until I walked into this chamber this morning. I still do not see enough in it to cause us to ask the minister to use his power of direction. There is a process for that. We all know what the process is and we do not always like the outcome. Sometimes the outcome is fine and we get what we want; sometimes it is not.

Mr Speaker I really do think that caution has to be the go here today. I have an enormous amount of sympathy for people wanting to conduct this type of business. The Mugga Lane zoo, for example, was a great activity. I took my kids there when they were very small and it was terrific. I was sad to see it cease operating. That does not matter in this instance. There should be other solutions to enable this business to continue to provide a service for our kids without requiring special treatment.

I urge members to consider very seriously the precedent that the Assembly would setting by getting the minister to issue a direction. It is not our responsibility to do so. If we wish to challenge his decision at a later stage, so be it, otherwise I think we should let the process take its course. It is dangerous, inappropriate and would not help anybody in the long run to do otherwise.

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