Page 339 - Week 01 - Thursday, 27 February 2014
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(iv) provide a detailed report to the Assembly by May 2014 on the range and extent of issues raised by stakeholders on the draft Nature Conservation Bill.”.
This amendment, rather than establishing an Assembly committee process, establishes a roundtable process. It commits the government to doing it. That is because that format will allow for good discussions with all the key stakeholders. Rather than just having a “hearing evidence” approach and then producing a report, we can actually negotiate what needs to be done in the legislation in that classic roundtable format.
The proposal is that it be chaired by the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, who I know is right across the detail of this legislation. I think he will provide good skills there. It calls for key stakeholders to be involved, including the parks and conservation service from TAMS, the relevant officers from the Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate, key conservation and rural lessee groups and, importantly, representatives of each of the three political parties, so that we can really work on this.
In a way, it is an Assembly committee but in a much more roundtable style. This will allow for a full discussion of the issues and then provide a detailed report to the Assembly by May this year on the issues raised in that roundtable. I have suggested May because we want to get on with this. It is that happy balance between getting on and getting this done, because it is well time that we did, whilst at the same time allowing that space for discussion.
The intent is to provide that environment so that we can bring the stakeholders to the table and get these matters resolved and get the best possible bill brought to the Assembly in just a few months time. I commend my amendment to the Assembly.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development) (5.10): The Labor Party will support the amendment proposed by Mr Rattenbury today. There has been some commentary on this proposal from different stakeholders which I think seeks to diminish the extent to which the government has sought, and I as the minister have sought, to get feedback from interested parties.
The exposure draft was available for public comment for a two-month period, which is a very reasonable period and, indeed, well in excess of the period set down in the Chief Minister’s guidelines for public consultation. The periods of time have, in my view, been reasonable and consistent with those set out in the consultation guidelines.
That said, I accept that the views of some stakeholders remain that they would like more time to comment on and participate in this matter. I am, of course, keen to see this issue brought to resolution. It has been a longstanding body of policy work. It has taken an overly extended period of time to be completed. That has been due to the very detailed work that has had to be undertaken by policy officers and the extensive range of comments that were made, as Mr Rattenbury alluded to, at the discussion paper stage.
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