Page 4594 - Week 16 - Tuesday, 27 November 1990
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The committee having been critical of that, the Attorney-General responded in terms which I found quite unconvincing and unacceptable. The Attorney-General's response to the committee was that it is not possible for a government to know when different matters may require amendment and it is not possible to coordinate a government's responses in such a way as to ensure one amending Bill dealing with several matters. In relation in particular to the Motor Traffic Act amendments, I find that quite unacceptable because it is abundantly clear - it has been repeatedly stated by Ministers - that a lot of these amendments to the Motor Traffic Act are in response to what I think is referred to as the 10-point plan, the requirements of the Commonwealth for Territories and States to obtain better road funding. The requirement is that a number of identifiable changes be made to Territory legislation.
We have seen in the last couple of sitting weeks some six Bills amending the one Act. It is, in my view, Mr Speaker, a waste of the legislative resources of the Territory and a waste of the time of the house and can serve only to arithmetically boost the record of this Government so that it will be able to say that it has moved 60 Bills rather than 50 Bills, or whatever the case may be. I find the response from the Attorney-General in this matter most unconvincing.
LEASEHOLD SYSTEM
Discussion of Matter of Public Importance
MR SPEAKER: I have received a letter from Mr Moore proposing that a matter of public importance be submitted to the Assembly for discussion, namely:
The failure of the Alliance Government to appropriately administer the leasehold system in the ACT.
MR MOORE (3.53): Mr Speaker, in the other States revenue is founded on some of the same things that we use but also on primary industry such as farming and on mineral resources. The resources of the ACT are limited as far as those areas go, although we do have some primary resources, some small farm holdings and some plantations. Our main resources are, of course, our people, tourism and our land. We are very fortunate in the ACT to be in a position where the community is the owner of the land and the community as a whole can benefit from ownership of land.
In order to benefit from the ownership of the land it is important that the administration of the leasehold system be consistent and above board. We must ensure that decisions are made in the public interest, the interest of the community as a whole, and not in the interest of individuals. Developers throughout most of Australia gain profit from development in two separate ways. Firstly,
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