Page 2921 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 13 August 2013
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
We are all aware of the disaster that was the large fire at the recycling facility at Mitchell. That could have had dire consequences, but thankfully did not. But on that occasion the system did not work. We found out that the dongle was held by a staffer who would often go home and who was not even on duty. So we have a 24-hour comm centre but the dongle is at home with the staffer on duty. On one occasion that staffer had to be woken up and brought in so she could send out the messages. That is not fair to the staffer, but more importantly it is not fair to the community. That is why it is important that these requirements are made public and we have a real discussion about what is required to protect the ACT. It is a shame that the government just says, “Not agreed.”
I have asked for these reports for four or five years now. I have been fobbed off in various directions. They have said, “We do not understand what you mean. We did not find reports like that.” Now we know that they exist; at least in this new era of transparency we are edging closer to the understanding that such reports and appraisals exist. It is not unreasonable to ask that they be made public, and it is a shame that the government has taken this approach.
Another issue that the Auditor-General talks about is cooperation. She says this in her report:
A number of areas of activity (for example, prescribed burns, infrastructure projects and fire fuel management) set out in the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate’s Bushfire Operations Plan require collaboration in, and between, ACT Government agencies. While this has been particularly effective for hazard reduction burns—
so well done—
where it is apparent that ACT Government agencies are achieving more effective fire management and ecological outcomes, this is not the case for infrastructure projects.
One of the things that the Auditor-General makes quite clear in her report is that the cooperation between agencies is less than optimal. She cites one particular example, the Mount Franklin Road, which runs for 78 kilometres from north to south in Namadgi. She says:
In January 2011 the road was approved for construction, with the first of three construction phases due for completion in December 2012. However, the upgrade of the road has encountered major delays and increased costs associated with the management of the development application and environmental approvals process and its construction since 2006.
It was meant to be done by December 2012. Here we are in August 2013 and it is still not done. There is a familiar pattern here, members, of delivery of vital emergency services activity under this minister. It has not been done. Here are some of the reasons why:
… the environmental impact statement and the development application process took four years longer than originally anticipated by the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate. The Territory and Municipal Services Directorate asserts:
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video