Page 631 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 23 March 1993
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Territory Plan Variations
MS SZUTY: Madam Speaker, my question without notice is to the Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning, Mr Wood. As the Minister is aware, the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Committee regularly considers variations to the Territory Plan where they are proposed and have been through the public notification process and community consultation phase conducted by the ACT Planning Authority. The Minister would also be aware that the PDI Committee is currently considering the Territory Plan. It has come to my attention that a number of prospective developers have been discouraged by the ACT Planning Authority to proceed through the variation process pending the finalisation of the Territory Plan. Can the Minister assure the Assembly that the variation process will continue while the Territory Plan is being considered, and that accusations and allegations regarding delays in the variation process will be fully investigated?
MR WOOD: I do not know about accusations, et cetera, but it is the case that we expect the Territory Plan to be through all processes by June or shortly thereafter. Mr Lamont will give me the exact date. That, I think, will be the end of a very long and thorough process. As the Planning Authority - incidentally, still working very hard on the Territory Plan - evaluates the proposals coming to it, it has to make the decision whether processes under the existing legislation would be completed before the Territory Plan comes in. If they look at the timeframe and say, "Look, we can run this through, but the Territory Plan will be in ahead of this", why would they undergo all that work and follow that existing process? Is it not more sensible, Madam Speaker, to wait until the Territory Plan is in place?
There is only one snag there, one potential snag, and that is if for some reason the Territory Plan still takes a long time to get through. I understand that it is not the intention of the PDI Committee to take it over to next year or anything. You have a very difficult task. I have seen the timetable and the plan, and it looks terrific. You are going to give it very careful examination, but I still expect it, as I believe your committee does, to be complete within that now relatively short timeframe. So it is eminently sensible on that basis to say to people who want to do some development, "Look, it is going to be just as quick, probably quicker, if you do it via the Territory Plan". That is what the advice has been, and it seems pretty good advice to me.
Influenza Vaccine
MRS CARNELL: My question is to the Minister for Health. The new haemophilus influenza type B vaccine, or HIB vaccine, approved by the NHMRC is now available. I understand that some Commonwealth money will be available in the near future for an immunisation program. As the most dangerous time for infantile meningitis and other associated HIB infections is May, June and July, can the Minister assure Canberra parents that HIB vaccine will be available as part of the childhood immunisation program from May this year, and can he guarantee that all Canberra children under the age of five will have access to the vaccine?
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