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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 06 Hansard (Tuesday, 22 June 2004) . . Page.. 2360 ..

There is not much point artificially trying to protect your environment by closing up a national park when you have a fire like we had which destroyed so much of the environment which simply will not be replaced for another 100 years. It is basically common sense, and a little bit of prevention ultimately saves the very thing a lot of extreme environmentalists are trying to protect anyway.

I make those points. I welcome the bill. I thank the minister and the officials for the briefing. I look forward to its operation and I look forward to hearing very good things from both Mr Corbell and Mr Smyth, who will be actually working as volunteers, about this bill. I certainly hope to continue to hear some good things from other members of the community such as people like Val Jeffery who no doubt will be far happier with a structure like this in regard to some of the problems he has highlighted in the past which have not been listened to by governments.

MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: I understand you seek leave to speak again briefly, Mr Smyth.

Mr Smyth: For one minute, Mr Deputy Speaker.

Leave granted.

MR SMYTH: I wish to draw to the attention of members that clause 45 of the bill, called “Constitution of the fire brigade”, says:

The fire brigade consists of—

(a) the chief officer (fire brigade)

We have with us the individual who will be the chief officer of the ACT fire brigade on 2 July, when this will come into operation, David Prince. I understand it was announced today that he has been elevated to that position. I congratulate him on that.

Sitting suspended from 6.30 to 8.00 pm

MR WOOD (Minister for Disability, Housing and Community Services, Minister for Urban Services, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, and Minister for Arts and Heritage) (8.01), in reply: Mr Speaker, when I presented this bill on 14 May I did so with confidence that it would attract considerable interest and debate. That is not to say that there had not already been a great deal of examination of the issue of emergency management. It has certainly occupied our minds constantly since January 2003. The much more focused discussion around the structure and content of this legislation has also been lively and members of this Assembly have already been consulted extensively on the background of this legislation.

The commissioner designate and his team have briefed the Standing Committee on Legal Affairs on the bill, and the commissioner has also been in discussion with members of this Assembly. I repeat my observation of 14 May that the level of consultation in this process has been extraordinary. I want to thank the members of the Assembly who

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