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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 1 Hansard (19 February) . . Page.. 222 ..

MS DUNDAS (continuing):

A good planning system involves public participation in decision making, leading not only to outcomes in which the people of Gungahlin will have confidence, but also a system that the public feel that they own and have contributed to. Ineffective and rushed consultation will not improve the community's involvement or access to information. It could be open to heavy criticism, like previous consultations. I would like to see an informed and ongoing consultation process, with sufficient time and resources to work together with the community to produce a real and meaningful outcome.

Consultation is not a process with a predetermined outcome in mind. Unfortunately, that is what we see through levels of government consultation. I really hope that consultation will go well beyond the placement of a particular road or the release of one or two sections of commercial land. A good consultation process is one which is ongoing and takes an approach to the issues, including social, environmental and economic concerns.

I did have some initial concerns about this notion, especially the desire to have the government take no further action to implement its plan until the renewed consultation is reported on by the first sitting day in April; but, as I have said, I believe that consultation should be an ongoing process and I would expect that consultation would not stop on the first sitting day in April, but we would just get a report on how progress had gone in the intervening six weeks.

This motion does not say that the government should scrap all current plans and build a pedestrian precinct. It calls on the government to have a greater consultation process and recognise that, whatever went before, at this point in time people are not happy and would like to be given information, provide information back and feel that what they are saying is being heard and their concerns, whether they are then taken on board or not, are at least being considered.

Unfortunately, this debate has moved to a prejudging of what would be the result of those consultations. Again, that is not what consultation is about. We should take the time to undertake a thorough process as to where the current community of Gungahlin is at this point in time and what they see the future of their town centre to be.

The last point I would like to make is that I am very concerned with the comment by the minister in his speech that even if this motion is passed he will ignore it anyway. I really do question this government's attitude towards the Assembly. The Assembly has a greater role than just picking a chief minister. We have a role to oversee a whole array of activities. By continuing to ignore the calls of the members of this Assembly who represent-

Mr Corbell: On this issue, you are wrong; it's that simple.

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