Page 2650 - Week 08 - Thursday, 24 August 2006

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her again if she had shown up. But she did not show up. Her staff did not remain for the meeting. No other representative of the opposition attended. It is not my problem if they cannot get their act together. The Greens attended the meeting. If they had concerns about this being on the agenda they could have raised it at that time.

It is quite reasonable for a minister to give a ministerial statement. Rather than waste further time, let us just get on with it, allow the statement to be given and then we can proceed with the rest of the business.

Question put:

That Mr Corbell’s motion be agreed to.

The Assembly voted—

Ayes 9

Noes 8

Mr Barr

Mr Hargreaves

Mrs Burke

Mr Seselja

Mr Berry

Ms MacDonald

Mrs Dunne

Mr Smyth

Mr Corbell

Ms Porter

Dr Foskey

Mr Stefaniak

Ms Gallagher

Mr Stanhope

Mr Mulcahy

Mr Gentleman

Mr Pratt

Question so resolved in the affirmative, with the concurrence of an absolute majority.

Ministerial statement

MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for Planning): When I launched the Canberra spatial plan two years ago, I made it clear that planning in Canberra would be planning for people. This government was elected on a platform to give citizens direct involvement in planning their neighbourhoods, the centres where they live and work and the places where they play. It means giving voice to Canberrans’ aspirations and implementing policies that balance development with the broader public interest. It has meant restoring the community’s confidence in the planning system. I believe that we have achieved community confidence over the last four years, with a transparent and inclusive planning process.

Foremost in this confidence-building process has been the creation of a strategic plan for Canberra, the first such plan in 20 years since the metropolitan plan of 1984. The Canberra plan sets a strategic framework which has guided much priority work for the territory since its introduction two years ago. The three principal components of the Canberra plan have been the social plan, the economic white paper and the Canberra spatial plan. The sustainable transport plan was also prepared to complement the plans and is closely equated with its spatial cousin.

This government committed to a comprehensive planning exercise which systematically considered the relationships and interrelationships between transport, land use, population growth, employment location, land availability, retail and leisure activity, social and cultural issues, ecological factors, financial and economic considerations, as well as the needs and aspirations of our community. The Canberra spatial plan and the

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