Page 3243 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 13 November 2007

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Ayes 1	Noes 14
Dr Foskey	Mr Barr	Mr Hargreaves
	Mr Berry	Ms MacDonald
	Mrs Burke	Mr Mulcahy
	Mr Corbell	Mr Pratt
	Mrs Dunne	Mr Seselja
	Ms Gallagher	Mr Stanhope
	Mr Gentleman	Mr Stefaniak

Question so resolved in the negative.

Amendment negatived.

Bill as a whole agreed to.

Bill agreed to.

Sitting suspended from 12.29 to 2.30 pm.

Mr Stanhope: For the information of members, my colleague the Deputy Chief Minister has been very temporarily delayed. She regrets her absence. She will be here in a few minutes. If there are any questions for Ms Gallagher, I ask for the forbearance of members; she will be here in a couple of minutes.

Questions without notice

Water—sustainable supply

MR STEFANIAK: Thank you, Chief Minster, for that; we will adjust accordingly. My question is to the Minister for the Environment, Water and Climate Change and I refer, minister, to a statement you made in the Assembly on 17 August 2005 in answer to a question from Mrs Dunne:

We have seen that, through just a bit of simple scientific, considered work, we can avoid the need for a dam for at least 20 years and perhaps forever.

She was asking the question as to why you were not building any dams. You were referring to public water from the Murrumbidgee. Minister, two years later you announced that the government would be building a new dam on the Cotter River. Minister, why has your government been so slow to realise that the ACT does need a new dam to ensure water security for Canberrans?

MR STANHOPE: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. The government did indeed take a decision, I think two to three years ago—I am not sure of the precise date—on the basis of advice provided to the government by Actew in relation to a detailed scientific assessment facilitated by Actew into securing Canberra’s future water needs. It was a broad-ranging, extensive inquiry, facilitated by Actew, involving a number of experts in the area of water, the provision of water, most notably the CSIRO, from whom advice was taken in relation to a number of

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