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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 11 Hansard (25 September) . . Page.. 3267 ..

MR HARGREAVES (continuing):

The Commonwealth is responsible for allowing the creation of this state of affairs. The previous ACT government did nothing to stop it. This Assembly should consider what action we can take to preserve the fundamentals of our planning system. I have been seeking solutions to the lack of employment and commercial viability in Tuggeranong for five years now, and I want to see a second economic food chain as an alternative to dependence on the public sector.

Having the airport development out there takes away the opportunities from Tuggeranong and it takes them away from Gungahlin. Allowing the use of the land bank at the airport for commercial development is no way to encourage development out at those fledgling town centres and Belconnen.

Minister for Planning

MRS DUNNE (6.19): I am glad that the Minister for Planning, Mr Corbell, is starting to use the forms and procedures of this house with a little more punctiliousness, and that he is not so keen to play fast and loose with realities and actualities. I am glad to see that he came in here today at least to throw some doubt over his assertion that it was the AIS that had pulled out of the meeting last Monday, because I was coming into the adjournment debate to ask him to clarify that.

The intelligence that I have received was that it was not in fact the AIS that withdrew, but rather Urban Services staff, who cried off on the basis that-I have been told-they had an urgent meeting with the minister. I hope that the minister can clarify that.

In the debate about Gungahlin Drive, the minister also said a couple of other things that he has not yet clarified. One was the assertion he made in question time yesterday that there was an agreement for a joint release of this report. Although I came back to him with the transcript of what he said in Hansard, he as yet has not apologised for that mistake. I hope he will do so soon.

He also said that he understood that Senator Kemp had made a comment on the report. I have made some inquiries, and I think, in fairness, he had been approached by a journalist who told him this. I have not actually managed to speak to Senator Kemp yet, and I will follow this up with Senator Kemp. However, the only comment that I can find is one attributed to Senator Kemp on the ABC news. The actual words used by Senator Kemp do not mention the report. The words attributed to Senator Kemp are:

It is not only a matter of finding whether roads go through or not, but whether the athletes will come to see if the athletes will come. If the athletes feel the environment is the correct environment, if they are worried by noise, if they are worried by other pollution, they simply will not come.

There is nothing in that which says that Senator Kemp is referring to the Fitch report, as was asserted in this place before. If the wily journalists of the ABC actually had the words of Senator Kemp commenting directly on the contents of the Fitch report, I am sure they would have reported it. I hope that, between the minister and myself, we can actually work out what Senator Kemp did say.

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