Page 3720 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 21 November 2006

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Mr Rob de Castella, Canon, the Canberra Southern Cross Club and a whole range of individuals. The Edwards family, Ryleho Home Solutions, Servcorp, Angus Investments, Keith Bradley, Tim and Judy Fischer and many other people made contributions to the prizes, ensuring that it was a great success on the night. The Apex Club of Weston Creek were there to make sure that the evening ran well.

I congratulate all those who participated in the evening. I will crow now because I was on the winning team, the Manila folders, as usual.

Mrs Burke: I thought there was a reason.

MRS DUNNE: Yes, there is always a reason. When it comes to quiz nights, we tend to be a bit cutthroat. It is good to make a contribution, but it is also good to know that you have come away with not so much the winnings but the realisation that you have won. I commend all those people and their contribution to a very worthy and inspiring cause.

I also pay tribute to the students and parents and the parent body of the Miles Franklin primary school for yet another extraordinarily successful fete. I was sitting there the other day watching the head of the fete committee and the head of the P&C, Jane Flanagan, run around the place like a mad thing, as I have seen her do for I think seven years in a row. It might be time that someone took the mantle from Jane. She has earned a well-earned rest. I congratulate the school and its community on such a stunning turnout.

Environment—natural resource management

MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella) (4.56): Last Friday I had the opportunity to attend the ACT Natural Resource Management Council forum on review of the ACT national resource management plan. The forum was the first of a series of events designed to involve community, government and industry in delivering a new plan by June 2007. The day raised some important points and issues in relation to the current situation with natural resource management and how it can be improved in the future. Proper management of the natural resources in the ACT is fundamental to maintaining the way of life we have come to enjoy. Managing our soils and vegetation to provide us with biodiversity and clean water is fundamental.

The purpose of the forum was to review the ACT natural resource management plan that sets the targets for the national heritage trust and national action plan investment. The current plan was drafted in 2002-03 and accredited by the ACT and Australian governments in 2004. The original plan was developed to provide a strategic focus for protection and management of the ACT environment, to promote community and government partnerships and to encourage integrated coordinated actions and access investment from multiple sources, including the national heritage trust. The plan also included an action plan for salinity and water quality which was to engage and energise the ACT community and provide a link to national and regional agendas in natural resource management.

This plan set in place significant targets and an action plan for dealing with natural resources in the ACT. However, whilst the scores given on targets in the current plan for water, soil, sustainability and community were all good, it is now outdated and therefore


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