Page 3318 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 22 September 2015

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MR CORBELL: As I have indicated in my previous answers, responsibility for assessment of environmental impact under the Planning and Development Act is the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Planning.

Mr Smyth interjecting—

MADAM SPEAKER: Order! Let him say it.

MR CORBELL: But what I can say is that in relation to woodland communities on that site, they have already been assessed under commonwealth environment protection law and all the necessary approvals or assessments have been undertaken consistent with commonwealth environment protection law under the commonwealth EPBC legislation.

MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Mr Smyth.

MR SMYTH: Minister, why hasn’t the government studied the impact of the removal of between 100 and 200 yellow box gums on the regent honeyeater, an ACT endangered species?

MR CORBELL: The assessments have been made consistent with commonwealth environment protection law. I refer Mr Smyth to my earlier answer. If he thinks that the application of commonwealth environment protection law is inadequate, I will be interested to hear his arguments.

Schools—autism

MR DOSZPOT: My question is to the minister for education. Minister, what were the terms of reference of the ACT government internal cage inquiry, and why have you refused to make them public?

MS BURCH: I think we covered this last week. The terms of reference are part of a process that was set up under the provisions of an EBA. As I said in a statement last week, they will not be released, but what has been released, and is in the public domain, is the scope of the work, the scope of the investigation. That is in the public domain. I encourage Mr Doszpot to look at what is on ETD’s website.

MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Doszpot.

MR DOSZPOT: Minister, how can the public have confidence that the inquiry was done without fear or favour, given the investigator was an ACT public servant?

MS BURCH: I think the public absolutely has confidence in an independent investigation carried out by Shared Services—absolutely—and to have any other question imply—

Mr Doszpot interjecting—


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