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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 2 Hansard (20 February) . . Page.. 440 ..


MS DUNDAS (continuing):

and, if necessary, broaden or amend the terms of reference before the community, in good faith, becomes part of this process.

I welcome Ms Tucker's amendment to Mrs Dunne's amendment, and I will be supporting the motion, if these amendments are carried.

Ms Tucker's amendment agreed to.

Mrs Dunne's amendment, as amended, agreed to.

Motion, as amended, agreed to.

Proposed charcoal production facility at Mogo

MS TUCKER (5.49): I move:

That this Assembly:

(1) expresses its disappointment at the quality of the ACT government submission on the proposed charcoal production facility at Mogo, NSW; and

(2) calls on the government to:

(a) rewrite the submission with more detailed analysis of the environmental and social impact of the proposal on the settlements and the native forests in the South East NSW region and in accordance with the principles of ecological sustainability; and

  1. forward the new submission to the Premier of NSW as soon as practicable.

This motion had its genesis in a question I asked the Chief Minister on 13 December. I asked him whether the ACT government would put in a submission to the New South Wales government on the proposed charcoal production facility at Mogo, given the ACT is an integral part in the Australian capital region and the interest of many Canberrans in the South Coast through owning property there, using the area for recreational activity or generally having a sense of our region.

Mr Stanhope agreed to put in a submission and said:

What happens within the region is of great interest to us here in Canberra, for a whole range of reasons. Indeed, I proposed a holiday for a week over Christmas to Broulee myself, just a quartz stone's throw away from Mogo. I would be happy to represent the views of Canberra, as the regional centre, on the issues of regional industry development.

I also asked him whether, given that he had expressed a desire to pursue an ecologically sustainable approach to development in the region, he would ensure that in assessing this proposal he would balance the short-term economic gains with the long-term environmental and social costs to the South Coast. Mr Stanhope again said that he would be happy to take those issues into account.

Given this positive response, I was looking forward to seeing the new Labor government's submission and seeing a demonstration of the government's promised fresh approach to major development issues in the region. I was therefore extremely


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