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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 13 Hansard (5 December) . . Page.. 4522 ..
MR DE DOMENICO (continuing):
Secondly, Ms McRae read something out of the newspaper that she brought into this place. She then said that she wrote a question for Ms Follett, which Ms Follett asked me earlier this afternoon, complaining bitterly about a process the Government started in June or July this year which called for expressions of interest about sporting facilities in Gungahlin and the fact that those expressions closed on 3 September this year - three months ago. She asked how come we had not, all of a sudden, made a decision and started building a sporting facility. In other words, let us take no account of the planning issues involved and take no account of the financial issues involved for the people putting in the tenders. Let us take no notice at all of the process; let us do things so that we can get onto the front page of the Gungahlin Chronicle and tell people how wonderful we are.
Can I say to Ms McRae that we do not operate in that way. We make sure that, once we agree to building any facility, that facility is based as much as possible on the needs of the community involved. We will also make sure that we protect that community and the taxpayer of the ACT by making sure that the facility is built competently by people with the financial backing to enable it to be built in a competent way. We will also make sure, Ms McRae, that before we make the final decision - - -
Ms McRae: I do not think you know what you are talking about.
MR DE DOMENICO: Can I say, Ms McRae, that I am a member of Cabinet, as are my colleagues. None of us has made a decision yet and, before we do make a decision, Ms McRae, we will make sure that it is the right decision. This is the better way. If you want to see a better way, look across the table. We will show you what that way is, and that way is always forward.
MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General) (6.08), in reply: Mr Speaker, in closing this debate, I rise to make a few remarks on what I note is the seventh anniversary of the election of the Alliance Government.
Mr Berry: Who would want to remember it? Although, it was a bit of a horror story; it would be hard to get out of your mind.
MR HUMPHRIES: Someone had to note it. We all have different memories, some better than others. Mr Speaker, I want to do a couple of things on the adjournment. One is to correct what might otherwise be a misleading impression I have created in some remarks I made, I think in September, when I tabled the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Amendment) Bill and the Land (Planning and Environment) (Amendment) Bill (No. 3). Members will recall that, in introducing the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Bill in September, I said in the presentation speech that all members of the Land and Planning Appeals Board would be offered appointment to the tribunal. The intention was that the
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