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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 13 Hansard (20 November) . . Page.. 3845 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

ACTCOSS is working to assist in the development of an innovative, sustainable and accountable community sector... However, this can not be achieved if the organisations that deliver community services are not supported by the Government and the ACT Legislative Assembly.

I wanted to read that out to support the sentiment of my motion today-that is, that there is a real fear in the sector that the community organisations are not going to be viable in the not too distant future, because of the pressures they are under. This is really important.

I understand the budget constraints under which the government is working. I heard what Mr Wood said, and I know what Mr Stanhope says, but this is truly a serious situation-that is why I have raised it today. I am hoping it will help the government to give this a very high priority in its budget deliberations.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Land act review

MRS DUNNE (4.30): Mr Deputy Speaker, I move:

That this Assembly notes that:

(3) the Land Act has been in operation for more than 10 years;

(4) there have been ongoing criticisms about the complexity and application of the Act;

(5) the recommendation of the Estimates Committee of the ACT Legislative Assembly for the 2002/2003 Budget that the Land Act be reviewed;

Further that this Assembly calls on the Government to:

(6) immediately commence a review of the Land Act to be carried out by an independent body such as the Law Reform Commission;

(7) ensure that the independent body has appropriate resources to carry out the review; and

(8) delay commencement of the Planning and Land Bill and associated legislation (if it succeeds) until the review has been completed and considered by this Assembly.

Before I proceed, Mr Deputy Speaker, I should apologise to members for referring in my motion to the piece of legislation concerned as the land act, rather than by its proper title, the Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991. So that we are sure what I am talking about, I am talking about the Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991, which is also known as the land act.

The act was developed over 1990 and 1991, and passed in late 1991. It came into effect on 2 April 1992, making it now more than 10 years old. There were 130 amendments moved on the floor of the Assembly in the course of the debate, of which only 60 succeeded and were adopted. Some of those that succeeded were related to those that did not succeed. As a consequence, there are many flaws. The act was, in many ways, flawed from the very outset.

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