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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 03 Hansard (Wednesday, 10 March 2004) . . Page.. 994 ..

into reserve. But there is a word of warning: if you are putting land into reserve, you have to remember that you have to provide money to manage the land; otherwise it would be useless. A great deal of management needs to go on. I hope that the government is prepared to commit funds as well as good intentions.

Most importantly, we need to take this opportunity to congratulate the people of Conder and Tuggeranong for their enthusiasm and commitment to the land care effort. Land carers are one of those groups of volunteers in the ACT who are very active in support of the community. Without their work, much of the land management of the ACT would be almost impossible to achieve. They do thousands of hours of unpaid work—work that the taxpayers of the ACT couldn’t afford to pay for. We should pay tribute to them, congratulate them on their efforts on this occasion and encourage them in their efforts in the future.

MR CORBELL (Minister for Health and Minister for Planning) (4.17): I am very pleased to support my colleague Mr Hargreaves in this debate this afternoon. This debate gives us an opportunity to reflect not only on the outcome at Conder but also on the broader policy settings which the government has brought to nature conservation in the ACT.

First of all, I acknowledge the efforts of Friends of Grasslands, in particular. Particular members of that organisation have been quite instrumental in bringing to the notice of members of this place, in past and present assemblies, the significance of the site at Conder 4A. It is perhaps worth reflecting on the fact that the previous minister had to be dragged kicking and screaming towards a moratorium on the issue. We have resolutions in this place to that effect before the moratorium was put in place. Nevertheless, the moratorium is there and Conder 4A is to be formally incorporated into Canberra Nature Park.

I just want to reflect a bit more on the issue of development in the city and the impact that has on remnant grassy woodland communities in the ACT. It is worth putting a few facts on the record. Since it came to office, this government has set aside over 1,000 hectares of remnant grassy woodland in the ACT at Gooroo and Callum Brae—significant incorporations into Canberra Nature Reserve. It is the single largest reservation of that ecosystem in the history of self-government.

Often the government are criticised publicly and in this place for valuing the monetary value of the land rather than the environmental value of the land. Let me just put the value of those 1,000 hectares into some perspective. We are talking about development potential and revenue potential forgone of that 1,000 hectares in the order of half a billion dollars in monetary terms. Obviously that land has value beyond its monetary value. It has value aesthetically and environmentally, in the context of an ecosystem which is under severe threat. When people criticise the government for saying that they want to sell this land rather than value it for its ecological standing they should keep that figure in mind. This government has forgone revenue at Gooroo and Callum Brae in the order of half a billion dollars—over $500 million worth of land revenues and the associated impact forgone. That is the magnitude of the government’s commitment and preparedness to forgo that monetary value, if you like, for the betterment of nature conservation activities in the ACT.

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