Page 1846 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 30 May 1990
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large schools with small enrolments it is very inefficient, and the costs are of little benefit to students. We are determined, as I think I have made quite clear before, to ensure that the capital costs of the system do not drain the education budget. We will not allow bricks and mortar to draw resources away from services of more direct educational benefit.
MR KAINE: I request that any further questions be placed on the notice paper.
Water Pollution
MR KAINE: Mr Speaker, I would like to answer a question without notice which was asked by the Leader of the Opposition on 26 April. The question was: what action will Mr Kaine, as Minister for the environment, be taking to ensure that the situation with the resourcing of the Environment Protection Section is rectified? The supplementary question was: will Mr Kaine undertake to investigate with the Environment Protection Section their statement of under-resourcing of their section, as expressed in the Canberra Chronicle article of 24 April?
Mr Speaker, I undertook to investigate the article which appeared in the Canberra Chronicle of 24 April 1990. Having read the article, I am now aware that Ms Follett has completely misquoted it, and I find that the article is quite correct in what it says. The relevant paragraphs show that a new policy is being developed to address the problem of pollution arising from the home building phase. The article states:
But the EPS would need more manpower to carry out any such policy which, according to EPS manager, Hugh Crawley, might not be a possibility because of the government's other budget commitments.
This statement recognises the realities of government, that there are many proposals competing for funding under the government budget and that a responsible government must carefully assess the implications of all such proposals. A policy to control building sites is being developed, in consultation with industry groups, to ensure a streamlined system which imposes minimum constraints on the industry and which is not going to create an unnecessary drain on government finances. Mr Speaker, I table the answer to that question.
PAPERS
MR COLLAERY (Attorney-General): Mr Speaker, pursuant to section 11 of the Taxation (Administration) Act 1987, I table, for the information of members, the 1988-89 annual report of the Commissioner for ACT Revenue Collections.
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