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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 7 Hansard (20 June) . . Page.. 1998 ..

Ms Horodny: Mr Speaker, I asked about annual progress reports and I asked about review of the strategy. Could you ask Mr Humphries to answer the question?

MR SPEAKER: There is no point of order. The Minister is answering the question as he sees fit.

MR HUMPHRIES: In fact, there were a number of things you raised in your question, Ms Horodny, and I am answering all those issues. I do not believe that we should be separately undertaking a progress report of the kind that indicates the level of emissions that we are producing in the ACT, because that work is being rolled into work being done by the Commonwealth. I do not see any great value in our doing that separately for emission levels. If we had lots of money, I would be very happy to go off and do that work separately and duplicate what the Commonwealth is doing; but we do not have lots of money. It is important for us to use the resources appropriately, to get the best targeted effect in terms of environmental activity. I happen to think that we should do it that way. In terms of other issues raised by the Commissioner for the Environment, the Government's response to the last State of the Environment Report is due shortly. In fact, it is on my desk at the moment. I can assure members that there will be an appropriate response as suggested by the Commissioner for the Environment.

MS HORODNY: I ask a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. Can you tell us, Mr Humphries, how close the ACT is to meeting the target contained in the ACT greenhouse strategy?

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, as I have made clear, there are not particularly explicit targets set in that strategy. I do not believe that they say - and I will check this - that you will produce a certain number of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by a certain year. There are certainly targets overall for Australia. You have already had something to say about the national targets, as I recall. I need to check to make sure that there are not any local targets set; but, as far as I am aware, there are not any local targets set. To the extent that that is the case, we will be working with the targets that we set through a process like that which the Commonwealth is now engaged in, which will identify levels of greenhouse gas emissions across the country and target the reduction of those on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis.

MR WOOD: That was a good question, Ms Horodny. Mr Speaker, my question is to the happy-looking gentleman over there, Mr De Domenico, the Minister for Business, Employment and Tourism. Minister, I note your determination to talk up confidence in the ACT's economy and I support that, but I am also seeking a more direct and effective response. By that I do not mean "shifting" timetables so that projects already approved can actually be ready at the designated time, which is what you did recently. I refer today to the figures released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics which reveal

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