Page 1148 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 7 May 2014
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Again, our concern here is that what we consider to be a significant piece of legislation was not communicated and was not consulted on. As a peak body with an interest in planning we would have hoped that someone might have thought that perhaps we should be consulted.
I asked:
So the media got to you before the government?
The response was:
Yes, they did.
Madam Speaker, what about Dr Kwiatkowski, another person who presented to the committee as a witness. He said last week:
… I just want to add that I am very disappointed at the lack of consultation around this bill. It is good that now there is a process in place, but originally the government did not let the community and stakeholders know this was happening until the very last minute. This is important legislation and I think it should be looked at very carefully before it is voted on.
Mr Anderson from the Weston Creek Community Council said:
I would say that the bill has been brought in with what I would term almost obscene haste. There has been no effective consultation on it. I think this hearing has been an afterthought after public criticism was raised by the community through a number of associations.
Mr Edquist said:
If it was the executive’s intention to make things difficult, they have succeeded at least in part. But I would note that community consultation where the community does not get the opportunity to express its views is not really consultation. I think it is a pity in a way, because I do not think it enhances the dignity of the Assembly that the executive is using it in this way. It is not really appropriate.
And there are more and more. The National Trust gave its comments about the consultation, as did Ms Margaret Fanning, Ms Forrest, Ms Price and many, many others. This government has a terrible track record when it comes to consulting with the community, yet we get a delusional response to the motion from the Chief Minister about how good this government is when it comes to consultation. Well, this government is absolutely appalling when it comes to consultation.
Some people in this chamber may have received a letter from a Sydney company requesting a score on how TAMS is going with regard to parks, conservation and land. The interesting thing is that if you filled out the survey and mailed it back to Sydney they gave you a scratchie. We have the ACT government rewarding people who fill out a survey by giving them a $2 scratchie in return. That raises several questions:
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