SPEECH NOTES FOR HAROLD HIRD MLA

TABLING REPORT NO.24 OF THE STANDING

COMMITTEE ON URBAN SERVICES ENTITLED

ACTIVITY IN ITS FIRST YEAR OF OPERATION

Mr Speaker

At a recent meeting of the Urban Services committee, we considered some statistics about our activity in the one year since we were formed on 1 May last year.

We thought they made interesting reading.

They reveal a very busy committee which has encouraged

community input into its inquiries and provided the

opportunity for many people to express their point of view

before us in fact 327 people have taken the opportunity to

appear.

We have averaged two reports a month which ....given the

nature of our inquiries and our preference to seek the

public's views where ever possible is a considerable

achievement.

have undertaken.

These include inquiries into:

� the Canberra Nature park;

� the Government's Draft Capital Works program;

� ACTION bus services for school-children;

� the Environment Protection (Amendment) Bill and the Water Resources Bill;

� draft Variations for North Canberra (B11 and B12 Area Specific Policies), and

� the Murrumbidgee and Lower Molonglo River Corridors.

We have tried at all times, Mr Speaker, to reach unanimous

conclusions but this of course is not always possible.