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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 10 Hansard (28 August) . . Page.. 2958 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

former Chief Minister, Mrs Carnell, at her preselection launch today on how she wanted to see a sustainable Canberra, how she wanted to see greater focus on how we manage development and redevelopment activity in the city and how she wanted to see better public transport provision in the city and what we needed to do to achieve that. I have to ask: what was she doing when she was Chief Minister? Has she had some time to reflect on it since then, Mr Speaker?

Unlike the former Chief Minister who repents at her leisure as she contemplates a seat on the red leather of the Senate, this government has done more in the past nine months to develop a strategic plan for our city than the previous government did in the past seven years. The OECD, in its report on renaissance Canberra, identified, amongst many things, the need to develop a strategy to guide the future development of our city. The government is strongly committed to the development of the Canberra spatial plan.

This plan really should achieve two very important things: first of all, it should be, in my view, a powerful statement of our aspirations for the city and, secondly, it should set out clearly how we should go about achieving those aspirations through land use planning and development. Next week there will be community debate and a forum on the development of the Canberra spatial plan. That will take place on 4 September.

Mrs Dunne: I rise to a point of order, Mr Speaker. The minister is not informing the Assembly of anything because all the members have invitations to the event next Wednesday.

MR SPEAKER: That is not a point of order.

MR CORBELL: I would have thought, given Mrs Dunne's enthusiasm for the strategic planning process, that she would have welcomed this advice. Mr Speaker, the forum will offer the community the opportunity to hear from national and international experts on the issues that need to be considered in the development of Canberra's physical environment in the next 25 to 30 years. It includes leading speakers from around Australia.

Mrs Dunne: Didn't you ever think about this in your seven years in opposition? What were you doing for seven years in opposition? Were you brain dead?

MR CORBELL: What were you doing for seven years in government, Mrs Dunne?

Mrs Dunne: I wasn't in government. I was a minor official. I was not the svengali you flatter me with being.

MR CORBELL: What were you doing in advising the Chief Minister? What were you doing in advising the planning minister? What were you doing in advising the environment minister, Mrs Dunne? What were you doing?

Mr Stanhope: I ask that all further questions be placed on the notice paper, Mr Speaker.

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