Page 291 - Week 01 - Thursday, 11 February 2010
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Authority; Office of the Commissioner for Sustainability, and the Environment, and the Conservator of Flora and Fauna.
Annual reports are the principal and most authoritative way in which chief executives and chairpersons account to the Legislative Assembly and other stakeholders, including the public, for the ways in which they have discharged their statutory and other responsibilities and utilised public funds over the preceding 12 months. As key accountability documents concerning management performance, annual reports reflect on the year’s performance, achievements and outcomes.
The committee held public hearings on 28 October and 16 December 2009. At these public hearings the committee heard from ministers, statutory officeholders and accompanying departmental and agency officers. The committee’s report focuses on significant issues of interest raised during the inquiry process including water and energy efficiency programs; energy policy and the feed-in tariff scheme; waste reduction; sustainability issues; and tree protection.
The committee’s report makes 10 recommendations. A number of these recommendations request that additional information be included in future annual reports in a range of areas. The committee considers that this additional information would be of interest to the ACT Legislative Assembly and the ACT community.
Finally, a report such as this does not come together without the hard work, cooperation and professionalism of many. I would just like to thank my committee colleagues: Mary Porter, who was a committee member until 19 November 2009; John Hargreaves, committee member from 20 November 2009; and Zed Seselja. I thank the Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, the Conservator of Flora and Fauna, and the accompanying departmental and agency staff for providing their time, cooperation and expertise during the course of the inquiry process. I would also like to thank the Committee Office, particularly the hard work and professionalism of the secretary, Margie Morrison. I commend the report to the Assembly.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Roads—speed limit
Paper and statement by minister
MR STANHOPE (Ginninderra—Chief Minister, Minister for Transport, Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Business and Economic Development, Minister for Land and Property Services, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs and Minister for the Arts and Heritage) (11.19): Madam Deputy Speaker, I speak in response to the Assembly motion of 24 March 2009, which asked the ACT government to consult on reducing speed zones around shopping centres and community facilities to 40 kilometres per hour and to report back to the Assembly with a plan of action by the end of 2009. Due to pressure of other Assembly business in December, I was unable to report on this matter in the December meeting, and I apologise to members for that. I do now, however, have pleasure, at the first opportunity in the first sitting of this year, in doing so.
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