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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 10 Hansard (25 September) . . Page.. 3698 ..

MR CORBELL: Consistent with the motion, members will receive them as soon as is practicable.

Planning approvals-conditions

MRS DUNNE: Mr Speaker, my question, through you, is to the Minister for Planning, Mr Corbell. I refer to a decision by ACTPLA to impose conditions on the approval of a tennis court in Amaroo, which included limiting part of the court's outer mesh fence to one metre in height. Can you believe it? In the AAT Mrs Pam O'Neil couldn't believe it either. She said, when considering the matter:

The end result of the conditions imposed was to limit the space available to the tennis court and so reduce, perhaps fatally, its functionality.

Minister, why did ACTPLA impose nonsensical and extraordinary conditions on the construction of this tennis court, or was it just a double fault?

MR CORBELL: I am not familiar with the details of the application, Mr Speaker. I will take the question on notice and provide the information to Mrs Dunne.

MRS DUNNE: Minister, why don't you know why ACTPLA imposed these silly conditions in this situation, considering that this has been reported considerably in the Canberra Times today?

MR CORBELL: I can't recall an article in the Canberra Time. I may have missed it, Mr Speaker. Perhaps Mrs Dunne isn't aware, but in any year there are about 5,000 to 7,000 development applications processed by the ACT Planning and Land Authority. Surely Mrs Dunne isn't suggesting I should know the details of each and every one of them.

Bushfires-removal of trees

MRS CROSS: My question is to the Minister for Environment. Minister, you mentioned yesterday that the removal of blue gum trees from various areas in the Canberra Nature Park was in the best interests of Canberrans for the protection of the urban areas against future fires. I understand that you had an expert give his opinion on this removal process and that a number of options were offered to you to deal with the nature park areas. I have been asked by constituents who live in Chapman why that particular option was chosen and why Environment ACT selected the option that seems to the residents to be the most drastic for an already devastated landscape.

MR STANHOPE: As I indicated yesterday, Environment ACT did obtain expert advice in relation to a range of issues around hazard reduction. Environment ACT did, in the context of that advice, obtain advice about the specific dangers, if any, of-or inherent in-the location of blue gum trees within a reasonable proximity to dwellings.

I tabled that advice yesterday and, for the information of members, I did read from that opinion as it related to blue gums adjacent to houses in Lyons, blue gums within both the Oakey Hill Reserve and parks that intrude from the Oakey Hill Reserve into the suburb

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