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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 1 Hansard (19 February) . . Page.. 197 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

The opposition believes that the independence required, that the timings that need to be met, that the protections and powers that should be given to the person conducting the inquiry, are critically important for people to be totally confident in the outcome, and that is not to besmirch anybody's reputation.

This inquiry is now a creature of the government, and it should not be. This inquiry should be a creature of the Assembly, representing the people of the ACT, because the people of the ACT want to make sure we get it right so that we can minimise the chance of what happened a month ago ever happening again.

Mrs Cross said she wants to defer because she wants more time to consider. I put out draft terms of reference on our first sitting day. I put them out 10 days ago in a complete form. I have spoken about this for some weeks.

I think there was an expectation, right from day one when the Chief Minister said, "Please, leave us alone to fight the fires. There will be a full and open process when we're finished."I think everybody had the impression there was an inquest coming, an independent inquiry coming. I think there is a sense of disappointment out there. So I hope that we do not lose the opportunity before it is grasped.

I thank Ms Dundas for her words. I do have concerns about timings and making sure we get them right, and that is why I have three distinct timings. Oddly, I think in one way there is almost some slight praise from the government in that they have also picked up the need for the Macleod inquiry to report by the end of July so that we can incorporate any of its findings into the next bushfire season, and I do believe that is critical.

Mr Wood spoke about lightening strikes and the use of the word "rumour". Well, the rumours and the stories are out there. Everybody has got a story to tell about the fire and none of them tally up. I have heard varying claims about when and where and why and how, and the only way I believe that you will get to the bottom of this is by conducting a full independent inquiry under the Inquiries Act.

In summary, I do not believe it is appropriate to hide behind the line that "The coroner will cover it". Mr Stephaniak pointed out that in his experience there are often areas where the coroner does not cover it, where the coroner chooses not to cover it, and because of the act the coroner cannot be directed to cover it. I think that is an excuse we should not be hiding behind. This inquiry is to complement the coroner's inquest; it is not to override it or to somehow compete with the coroner.

I think what the people of Canberra want is something that will give them confidence. They will get that confidence, I think, from total independence and through an inquirer having the powers needed to do his or her job. The timings truly are important. The timings are not something that we should be taking lightly. The timings are important if we are to get the rebuilding process properly done and fireproof our suburbs as best we can.

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