Page 852 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 9 March 2016
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MR GENTLEMAN: I thank Mr Wall for his question. It is quite important that we do the village plan for Tharwa, as mentioned, in the public arena. It has been quite a long time since work was done in the planning sense around Tharwa. It is our oldest village of that sort and it is important that we have as many stakeholders contributing as we can. At this stage, I have not got the formal number of submissions made, but I look forward to reviewing those submissions and hearing the comments that those stakeholders made and about the work that EPD is doing with the consultation.
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Mr Wall.
MR WALL: Again, I will ask the first question: minister, are you satisfied that all stakeholders were given a fair opportunity to provide a submission during the consultation? Did you consult with all businesses, including the artisan community, on the Tharwa village plan?
MR GENTLEMAN: No, I did not myself. This was done through the directorate and I have not got the details of each individual they consulted with. But I understand that it was wide ranging and I look forward to reading the submissions from those stakeholders.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Lawder.
MS LAWDER: Minister, did consultation with other business operators or community organisations operating in the vicinity of Tharwa village take place?
MR GENTLEMAN: As I said, the directorate dealt with as many as possible in the consultation period. They were mainly from Tharwa, of course, but I understand there were other stakeholders involved in the consultation. It is important that we get all of their views, as we go forward, to look at the village plan for Tharwa. If there were any stakeholders missed, I am certainly happy to allow the directorate to talk to them again. There will be other processes involved, of course, in negotiations with Tharwa on the Tharwa village plan and stakeholders around the area.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Lawder.
MS LAWDER: Minister, is this so-called consultation just a half-hearted attempt to appease the residents of Tharwa after 15 years of your government’s poor decision-making and neglect of the village of Tharwa and its surrounds?
MR GENTLEMAN: Certainly not. I personally have been involved in consulting with Tharwa over many years; in fact, with 30 or so Tharwa residents. There have been 571 hits to the website in the consultation period. Certainly, there were quite a number of people that wanted to be involved in how Tharwa should proceed. I take that as a good response and I am really looking forward to sending through those responses and doing the best we can for Tharwa.
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