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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 12 Hansard (14 November) . . Page.. 3635 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

Two of the amendments to the act put into effect recommendations arising from the 2000-01 review. The first is that the council should be able to make minor variations to a national environment protection measure by using a process that is more streamlined than the existing process. The bill does not reduce or eliminate the requirement for regulatory impact statements and public consultation. Therefore, there is no impact on business.

The second is that there should be provision for the act to be reviewed at further five-yearly intervals. The third amendment follows from the review of ministerial councils by the Council of Australian Governments. This review resulted in the holding of joint meetings between the National Environment Protection Council, which remains a statutory body, and the new Environment Protection and Heritage Council. The new council also deals with environment protection and heritage issues previously dealt with by the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council and the heritage ministers meeting. As the Minister for Urban Services, I am the ACT's representative on these councils, once again. The bill will amend the act to allow the National Environment Protection Council Service Corporation, which provides secretariat services and project management for the National Environment Protection Council, to extend its support and assistance to the new Environment Protection and Heritage Council.

As I mentioned earlier, this bill mirrors amendments before the Commonwealth parliament. I would propose that debate and passage of this bill be delayed until after the passage of the Commonwealth bill.

I commend the bill to the Assembly. I have tabled the explanatory memorandum.

Debate (on motion by Mrs Dunne ) adjourned to the next sitting.

Sitting suspended from 12.27 to 2.30 pm

Questions without notice

Credit rating

MR HUMPHRIES: My question is addressed to the Minister for Planning, Mr Corbell. During the Estimates Committee hearings you were very bullish about the potential returns to the territory from socialising land development in the ACT. I quote:

The government's approach will see a return of land development to the community with a significantly greater return on our most valuable community assets. Some members may have read in the paper this morning some of those figures. By 2005-06 the level of additional return to the Canberra community from government land development will be $17 million per year.

Members will also have read in yesterday's paper that rating agency Standard and Poor's has threatened to reduce the ACT government's credit rating if it proceeds with socialised land development. In the Estimates Committee hearing you were asked to indicate the difference between the Commonwealth's failed approach to land development efforts in the 1980s and your present attempt to do that. Can you now

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