Page 2704 - Week 08 - Thursday, 24 August 2006
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
city centre, no public collection of recyclable waste in the CBD and no recycling facilities in many government housing complexes in Turner and Braddon.
If businesses want to do the right thing, they have got to pay for their own recycling collection over and above the rates that they already pay. The government’s strategy for minimising waste and minimising greenhouse emissions in the CBD is to leave it to the largesse and ethical motivations of the business community. That is a disgrace and it is unlikely to be effective in the short term.
This might seem a small matter, but it is in response to a constituent’s concern. We learn that it is no longer policy to pick up the carcasses of kangaroos, birds and other dead animals from roadsides. This is hardly the look for a national capital and it is not too good for public health, I would think.
I would like to briefly address the notion of an integrated transport plan. The budget plans for this department have failed to advance it. Canberra faces fairly major changes physically and socially. The consolidation of development around transport nodes will give us a base for an improved transport system. The growing universal understanding of the greenhouse gas challenges we face and the increasing cost of fuel will see non-personal transport grow in importance.
Members interjecting—
DR FOSKEY: Mr Speaker—perhaps you are listening—something needs to happen. While the light rail network can, and should, be a part of the plans for Canberra, we also need to create an integrated system which moves us beyond the taxi-bus divide and allows Canberra residents to move seamlessly from pick-up and drop-off at the door to a fast and frequent intertown mass transit system.
Mr Hargreaves intimated that 100 full-time equivalent jobs are likely to be lost under his stewardship. I have heard that parks and conservation staff are in the front line for job losses. Is this because legless lizards and red box, yellow box and red gums cannot vote? Many workers come to Canberra and stay here for many reasons, but high on their list of attractions are the green urban spaces, the clean air, the surrounding national park and the undeveloped hilltops. They treasure more natural places where they can go, perhaps with their children, and appreciate the Australian bush. They also appreciate on a philosophical level the protection that past ACT governments have provided for habitats and species that do not offer just good photo opportunities and sound grabs.
The minister admitted that he was new to the job of default environment minister and did not yet have a detailed understanding of the various issues and concepts involved. One would imagine that he would welcome sources of expertise and information that might help him to make informed decisions. Sadly, one of the whole-of-department, if not whole-of-government, initiatives of this budget is to abolish the bulk of its advisory groups and boards. In most cases this is a false saving, as these quasi volunteer groups are excellent sources of skilled labour and expertise that will not merely parrot the department’s line and will not be restricted to thinking within the paradigms operating within the bureaucracy. Canberra is richly endowed with scientific and conservation expertise. Over the past few years we have benefited from the advice that those people have freely, and often literally for free, given. Clearly, there are costs associated with
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .