Page 2171 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 6 June 1990
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Hang-Gliding
MR STEVENSON: I have received a letter from a constituent concerning hang-gliding and I would ask the Minister for Finance and Urban Services whether there are hang-gliding areas in the ACT? Could such facilities be a possible tourist benefit and also of value to the community in the ACT?
MR DUBY: I thank Mr Stevenson for the question. There is an area in Lawson on the north side of Canberra, adjacent to the Belconnen Naval Radio Station, currently used for stock agistment, that has been identified as a training site for members of the ACT Hang-gliding Association. A deed of licence has been drawn up by the ACT Government Solicitor and it is yet to be signed by that Hang-gliding Association, allowing the association to use that area for training purposes.
I think it is worth while to point out that the ACT Electricity and Water authority has raised concerns about the closeness of powerlines in that area, and these and other matters have been addressed in the deed of licence. Apart from that training site, there are no other sites specifically designed or designated in the ACT for the sport of hang-gliding, and most activities occur in areas outside of the Australian Capital Territory. Given that difficulty and the fact that there is this slight problem of powerlines within the area, it is not envisaged at this stage that that area be used either as a tourist attraction per se or to instruct people who are unfamiliar with the sport.
School Consolidations
MRS GRASSBY: My question is also to the Minister for Education. Given that 15 to 25 schools may close, what is the estimated flow-on cost to the welfare budget to allow for more parents needing bus passes and assistance in purchasing new uniforms for children attending new schools?
MR HUMPHRIES: Mrs Grassby has asked me a hypothetical question. It is impossible to answer questions of that kind until such time as information is available on which schools will close. To suggest that we are going to have all sorts of costs flowing on is really no more than an attempt to alarm people about the way in which these things are occurring.
Mrs Grassby: So obviously you do not know.
MR HUMPHRIES: It is obvious that nobody can know, Mrs Grassby, until such time as we name the schools which are going to close.
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