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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 10 Hansard (Tuesday, 24 August 2004) . . Page.. 4017 ..

contribution to the conferences, which the committee has attended over the years, on subordinate legislation in particular. He is recognised as a fair authority on these matters and it needs to be recognised that he will be the repository of corporate knowledge.

So I would urge the next government or the next Assembly in fact to retain his services or to find someone as eminent because there is always a danger when you have the change of membership that we will have in the Assembly that we will lose a certain amount of corporate memory. Mr Stefaniak would remember, when he came along—it was some years between his original membership of the committee and then his renewed membership of it—the gap that occurred in that period.

I would also like to express my appreciation to Tom Duncan and the late Celia Harsdorf for their contribution in the earlier stages of this Assembly and in the previous one. Tom’s advice was invaluable. I think it needs to be said publicly that Celia Harsdorf, in fact, took on a role which was largely unsung, and that was as the person who examined subordinate legislation for the infringement of people’s rights and liberties—a boring task if ever you could invent one—and she did it with an enormous amount of skill. When she left, Anne Shannon came on and has done, I think, a sterling job—a very great job indeed.

Thanks to Max Kiermaier—unfortunately a St Kilda supporter, but nobody’s perfect. However, he seems to think that this is going to be a repeat of 1966—the year of the saint. We, I think, have to disabuse him of that. However, I do wish to congratulate him, the Deputy Clerk and Serjeant-at-Arms, and unfortunate St Kilda supporter, for his service to the scrutiny of bills committee. It has been great. Sometimes it has been a bit of touch and go. We had a bit of urgent stuff today which he handled, I thought, particularly well.

I echo the sentiments of my chair and do wish the members of the next Assembly’s scrutiny of bills and subordinate legislation committee a most enjoyable time. It has been an absolute blast.

Planning and Environment—Standing Committee

Statements by members

MS DUNDAS: Pursuant to standing order 246A, I wish to make a statement on behalf of the Standing Committee on Planning and Environment in relation to the inquiry into renewable energy and sustainability.

Leave granted.

MS DUNDAS: On 11 April 2002, the Assembly referred the options for renewable energy strategy for the ACT to the Standing Committee on Planning and Environment. The terms of reference were expanded on 18 June 2003 by the Assembly directing the committee to inquire into suitable means of reporting greenhouse gas emissions from electricity for large businesses in the ACT. The terms of reference for this inquiry were quite broad and highly technical.

Although the committee has invested considerable time and effort into this inquiry, the terms of reference were ultimately too wide ranging. Considering the committee’s heavy

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