Page 3418 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 11 October 1994
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I think this is an excellent MPI. I agree with earlier speakers. We do need to remind ourselves occasionally that we have the sort of environment in which we exist here. It is unique. There is no doubt about that. That uniqueness brings with it all those other things that I have mentioned. I think that to stand up here today and to talk about it in general terms is a very good exercise. The work that is done by the ranger service - to repeat myself for a moment - cannot be overstated, and I believe that any action taken to enhance and continue to value these resources in the Territory must be applauded and must be supported by everybody in the Territory.
MR LAMONT (Minister for Urban Services, Minister for Housing and Community Services, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (4.09): Madam Speaker, I rise to speak on this most important MPI. I think it says a lot about the difference between the policies of the Follett Labor Government and the attitude of the Opposition when one considers that, until a few seconds ago, there was less than half of the Opposition in the chamber to hear or to participate in the debate. It is quite obvious that, in allowing Mr Stefaniak to continue as he did, they regard the matter outlined in the MPI as less than important to them or, indeed, to the people of the ACT.
Madam Speaker, on the tabling of the report of the Commissioner for the Environment I said that that report, of itself, would form the test by which we, as a community, will be judged by future generations. I suppose that I can use exactly the same analogy if I talk about the importance to our community of Canberra Nature Park and Namadgi National Park for the ongoing relationship between Canberrans and the natural environment. In fact, the way in which we deal with its preservation and with its management is the test by which future generations will judge not only the 17 members of this Assembly but all of the people residing in the Territory at this time. It is too easy to denigrate our natural heritage to an extent where, if we look at comparisons both nationally and internationally, the very fabric of the community within which we live can be irreparably damaged and irrevocably changed. Resources are provided, through the various agencies of government and through various non-government organisations, for the preservation of our wilderness, our old-growth areas of natural stands of timber. With the expansion of the urban form in Canberra we have seen a very positive view and feeling by government agencies and non-government organisations for the preservation of what remains.
When we look at the rationale behind preservation, and the extent of the preservation which applies to Mulligans Flat, in particular, we can see that it remains critically important for the Government and the community to be vigilant about preservation of appropriate areas within the geographic area of the Australian Capital Territory. Mulligans Flat, with one of the more substantial remnants of the natural grasslands, will over time, I am sure, with proper management techniques, be restored to a pristine state. We will see the gradual eradication of invasive plants that have been allowed to generate in that area. I suppose that "pristine" is a difficult word to use in the context of Mulligans Flat. It is an area that has been used as grazing land for a number of generations and, because of that, there has been substantial change to the natural bushland and the natural grasslands that were there. With the proper management techniques we will be able to recover Mulligans Flat and it will be an everlasting testimony to the types of ecosystems that existed here on this plateau, on the Limestone Plains, prior to white settlement.
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