Page 3601 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 21 November 2007
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foreshadowed that we propose to incorporate within the role and function of the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment responsibility for some of the functions which the Conservator of Flora and Fauna currently pursues as a result of something of a misfit between the statutory and administrative role and function that the conservator has traditionally pursued.
This week I discussed with Dr Cooper the prospect for legislatively incorporating within her role responsibility for catchment management and the need to formalise arrangements in her role as Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment and a role with the SERG, a professional reference group. It has not been abandoned; it is a new structure that has been sought. I propose to incorporate that. We will be making significant amendments to that legislation to incorporate those different aspects of responsibility. Through that process, we will consult, in relation to that piece of sustainability legislation, on other aspects that might be incorporated. (Time expired.)
MR STEFANIAK (Ginninderra—Leader of the Opposition) (11.34): In speaking to the motion I will also speak to the amendment and a few points that have been made. Despite what the Chief Minister says, I think there is some merit in part of Dr Foskey’s motion, at least in relation to full public consultation. I hear what he says in relation to what he is doing with the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment and I make note of that, but I think there is still quite clearly here a broken government promise and I am amazed the government has not actually put out something more than just its climate change strategy that it introduced back in July this year. But more on that later.
The Chief Minister does also need to go and check a few facts and figures in relation to the previous government strategy. I am told by the then minister who introduced the strategy that there was money spent prior to that government losing office. The Chief Minister needs to go and get his facts right on that as well. In terms of targets, there were some specific targets there and that was the most advanced strategy at the time in the world. I am disappointed to see the Chief Minister’s climate change strategy not embrace and indeed delay certain targets there. They well may not have been unworkable; it was a strategy introduced at a time that was groundbreaking and indeed there was some money in the budget before the previous government lost office.
Mr Stanhope: That is bulldust, Bill.
MR STEFANIAK: You should talk to the former minister and he could perhaps take you to it, Chief Minister. As usual you go off and I think you may be twisting some of what you say there.
In terms of sustainability, I hear with interest what both speakers say. It is important to have principles of sustainability incorporated into aspects of government decision making. Whether you need a specific act dealing with sustainability is a moot point. I think it is far more important to have the principles there, the principles guiding what you do, and then having specific actions taken—and specific actions may require some legislation and some detail of where you need to regulate. On a lot of other things too we just need to encourage people to embrace the notion of sustainability.
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