Month: September 1992

A private company and the Australian Protective Service are vying to provide an electronic jail for the ACT, according to Independent MLA Michael Moore.

The electronic jail is a computer-monitoring system of prisoners in their home. The monitoring is either done by electronic bracelet or by random computer telephone checks.

Mr Moore said yesterday that the Legislative Assembly must decide whether a jail was to be public or private.
Continue reading “1992_09_september_prison7”

The pattern of Canberra development changed markedly yesterday with the approval by the ACT Government of a four-year land development plan.

Gone are the days of relying on new discrete suburbs and townships. In the next four years more than half of new dwelling sites will be in urban renewal so that less than half will be in the new suburbs in Gungahlin and Tuggeranong.

Canberrans can expect about 1700 dwelling units a year, nearly all medium density, to be constructed within or immediately next to the present built up area.

The aim of the planners is to take advantage of existing educational, recreational and cultural amenities and save on infrastructure costs like sewerage, electricity and roads by building within or adjacent to developed areas.

However, planners say green areas will not be affected. With the exception of two sites, all areas planned for development have been the designated for residential or other development by planners in the past.

The Minister for Environment, Land and Planning, Bill Wood, said, “”Never-ending suburbs have an increasing social, environmental and budgetary cost.”

The program is for the release of 13,560 dwelling sites in the four financial years to 1995-96. This is about 3400 sites a year. Of these, 6300 will be greenfields sites in news areas and 7260 will be urban renewal.

Several major urban renewal areas have been identified.

West Belconnen is to go ahead in four stages of 400 dwellings a year beginning in April next year. West Belconnen has been the subject of much community angst in the past two years with some residents urging development in greenfields in Gungahlin. West Belconnen was divided into four areas; only Area B and C are in the program. Area C will be developed first.

North Watson, bounded by the Federal Highway, Antill Street and Stirling Avenue will go ahead in three stages of 200 units a year beginning in October next year.

North Duffy, between the Cotter Road and Warrangamba Streets will go ahead in three stages of 100 units a year from October next year. The area includes the site nominated several years ago for a mobile-home village which was abandoned after maxworthyite protests from nearby residents.

A large site in Richardson bounded by Johnson and Ashley Drives and the floodway will house 300 dwellings over three years from October next year. This contains a heritage site, the Tuggeranong Homestead, and any development would have to take account of heritage requirements.

Melba Flats redevelopment this year will be for 200 units.

The whole question of how Canberra will develop has caused great community concern since the publication of the Draft Territory Plan in November last year.

That plan identified dozens of areas in the territory for investigation for development. They were marked in pink on the map and became known in planning a development circles as “”pink areas”.

The pink areas, many of them open areas in the city area caused community alarm that green space would be developed. On the other hand, developers wanted to get hold of as much of it as possible because it would attract top prices with lower development costs. Conservationists have been conserned about heritage values in existing areas, but keen to stop the urban sprawl into adjacent rural land. The planners have been in the middle.

Before the last election the Government announced it would withdraw the “”pink areas” from the plan except two areas in West Belconnen (now to go ahead) and it would look at individual “”pink areas” from time to time.

In the next four years only other two pink areas will go ahead: Duffy and Richardson. All other areas to be part of the urban renewal have already been designated residential or in the case of Watson for entertainment, accommodation and leisure.

None the less, the developments will have to go through the planning process under the Land Act, which includes a requirement of public consultation. In some cases this might mean a development will not go ahead or that it is modified.

The program includes about 200 dual-occupancy developments a year over the four years and about 300 redevelopments (such a Kingston townhouses and one-off consolidations). These are subject to objection, in some circumstances, by neighbours.

The greenfields sites in Tuggeranong and Gungahlin will be released in April, 1993, and in October 1993, 1994 and 1995. As a general principle, larger sites will have a mix of detached, medium and high density and smaller sites will be medium density.

The urban renewal program envisages development of about 800 units a year on vacant sites in the city area over the next four years.

This financial year’s vacant-site program includes the following: Page Block 30, Section 11 15 units (near the school); Holt 50 units 55/49; Belconnen 110 units 36/55 near Emu Bank; Florey 100 units 4/145 near Coulter and John Cleland Drives; O’Malley 40 units 2 and 4/32 near Kareelah Vista; Mawson 100 units 20/47 old-people’s units on Wilkins Street; Bruce 150 units Section 33 Fernhill Park; North Lyneham 20 units at the top; Kambah 13 units next to Drakeford Drive after the expiry of a 10-year moratorium given by the NCDC; Woden Valley High School 150 units; Monash 120 units for old people.

Next financial year’s program includes: Oaks Estate 10 units; Spence 10 units 3/36; Fadden-Gowrie 100 units; Kambah 25 units at Section 530.

1994-1995 includes: Phillip 80 units at Section 100, 101, 102 and 130; Latham seven units 1/71; Melba four at 10/56; Giralang 13 at 1/48; Hughes 40 at Section 28; Stirling 70 at Section 24; Mawson 20 at Section 58; Hawker 70 at 3/2.

1995-96 includes: Flynn 9 at 1/39; Hawker 10 at 24/28; Latham 44 at 1/69; Bruce 27 at 3/21; Higgins two at 8/23; Holt seven at 54/24; Kaleen seven at Section 44.

Mr Wood said the program would provide extra population in areas that were declining. This would help their viability.

“”Urban renewal is a major plank in our platform of structural change and it has received strong support in our consultation leading up to the budget,” he said.

The 50-50 urban renewal-greenfields split would reduce environmental damage and demands on future budgets. The program provided for a variety of housing styles. The Unit Titles Act would be revised to make strata titles easier for smaller units.

“”In releasing the program for the next three years, the Government recognises the community’s right to be fully informed in regard to proposals for future residential development,” he said. “”The Government has listened to Canberra residents who wish to preserve their residential amenity.”

Planners hope the West Belconnen development, perhaps the most contentious, will save on the building of another school. The last one in Tuggeranong cost $7.2 million. They hope the extra population will help Kippax and other shopping centres and give vitality to schools at McGregor, Charnwood and Fraser.

Labor was at it zenith. It was in government nationally and in virtually every state. Parliament House had been open a few months before. It was a splendid occasion, especially for Bob Hawke, who had won three consecutive elections.

It is easy to taint the whole of this Labor period with the gloom of the present recession, just as the whole of the Whitlam period was tainted with the catastrophic last six months. But in spring 1988 the outlook was quite bright. Keating had balanced the 1987 Budget and had a $5.5 billion surplus in August 1988. He was talking about “”the way back to prosperity.” Foreign debt was a worry as was rising unemployment, but the expectation was they would both fall and the worse was over.

Then the moths came.

Every year in late spring bogong moths fly from the coast to the mountains to mate. Some years they are in plague proportions, other years there are few of them. But they come every year and are part of the stable seasonal cycle of Canberra, the city of national political life.
Continue reading “1992_09_september_moths”

Independent MLA Michael Moore has given notice of a Bill to repeal the law providing jail for public servants who leak documents.

He proposes also to introduce a whistle-blower protection law.

Mr Moore gave notice of his repeal Bill last week. It repeals section 10 and 11 of the Crimes (Offences against the Government) Act 1989.

Section 10 provides two years’ jail for ACT public servants who communicate official information to unauthorised people.
Continue reading “1992_09_september_moore”

Evidence would not be excluded because the media might give it undue emphasis, the ACT Coroner, John Burns, ruled yesterday.

He was inquring into the death of Brian Lankuts, aged five months, who died on November 21, 1990, after surgery to correct a skull abnormality which threatened to compress his brain.

He rejected a submission from Stuart Littlemore, acting for three doctors: neurosurgeon Dr Nadana Chandran, maxillary facial and oral surgeon Dr Peter Vickers and plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr Alan Ferguson.

Mr Littlemore, who presents the program Mediawatch on ABC television, submitted that certain evidence should be excluded because üThe Canberra Times would give it undue emphasis and because it would not assist the inquiry. He said it was public knowledge that several doctors were suing what he called the local paper over an article about Brian Lankuts.

Mr Burns allowed the evidence saying he would make decisions about admissibility on the relevance to the inquiry and the issues before it. How the media reported the evidence was not an issue. Anyone complaining about that could take action against the newspaper.

Dr Chandran and Dr Vickers are suing üThe Canberra Times along with two others who have not been mentioned in, and are not represented at, the inquest.

Counsel assisting, Steve Loomes, sought to tender the whole of a statement by Constable Paul McEwan. However, this course was objected to by three lawyers, including Mr Littlemore, representing six doctors, and counsel representing the ACT Board of Health, Pamela Coward.

Some evidence about Constable McEwan’s conclusions about witnesses state of mind was excluded, but other material objected to was allowed in.

The figures were in the annual report of the president of the ACT Law Society, Russell Miller, in the society’s latest Gazette.

The problems covered: crime, traffic, family, tenancy and other areas. 140 ACT solicitors gave their time free over the year. The bureau, at 21-23 London Circuit, is open 12.30pm to 2pm weekdays. Appointments to 2475700.

Non-grasping lawyers 2: The society gave $615,090 in grants to the ACT Legal Aid Commission and the Welfare Rights Centre for legal aid.
Continue reading “1992_09_september_lawwed”

Bettie McNee, of Freehills, was elected vice-president. Robert Clynes, of Minters, was re-elected vice-president. Joanne Rees, of Phillips Fox, was elected secretary and Brian Loftus, of Gallens, treasurer. Michael Phelps, of Phelps Reid, who was recently elected Treasurer of the Law Council of Australia, remains immediate past president.

It was a matinee performance of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde when Paul Keating addressed the National Press Club yesterday. No, Dr Hewson was not Dr Jekyll. True to Robert Louis Stevenson’s text, Paul Keating played both parts.

The first part was the prepared speech in which Keating played the mild-mannered Dr Jekyll. In this age of the 18-second grab, it is a role the public rarely sees. He put a carefully constructed argument with little rhetoric and lots of statistics and jargon from the Treasury.

“”30 per cent marginal income tax rate if business were to enjoy the $20 billion 70 per cent of households $25,000 each would be up to $25 a week worse off $90,000, they would find themselves up to $105 a week and up to $5460.”

Then I saw Rowan Atkinson. It was just like that skit where he falls asleep in church, slumps on the pew, and falls into a kneeling position without quite falling on the floor. Meanwhile, the sermon is droning in the background and you can’t quite make out any words, but the intonation is clearly that of a sermon.

Atkinson was two tables away. His eyes glazed over.small effects on output, the current account and employment analysis of the major elements negative effect on the economy . 10.1 per cent, 10.7 per cent.

Atkinson’s pupils rolled back. Yes, he was going to slump into the cheese just as 832,000 small businessmen were “”destined to become the new tax collectors for Dr Hewson”. The laughter jolted him, and his eyes darted around to see if anyone had seen him nodding.

Keating waded into payroll tax, so Atkinson was still not saved from the cheese plate. Tables of diplomats, retired and semi-active public servants, lawyers and political groupies barely stayed tuned. The matinee was a disappointment. It was well-argued case, but they had come for a performance. there is little difference between payroll tax and a tax on the value that is added to the products by labour. The economic effects of the payroll tax .

By now even Keating was getting bored with own prepared speech, like Jekyll bored with life. So he left out a great slab of it and Atkinson was saved from the cheese-plate.

Many in the audience had never seen a full performance of Keating as Jekyll: intelligent, softly spoken and well-reasoned. They had only seen him as Hyde, and only 18-second grabs of Hyde at that.

The ABC’s Jim Middleton, presiding, then administered the potion of transmogrification: “”We now move to questions.”

Dennis Grant of Channel Seven asked about pay television.

Immediately, the Treasury jargon was gone. Reason and politeness cast aside: “”You guys have given the GST a sleigh ride for a year now. And all we get is pay television.”

Grant persisted with a question about putting the ABC in the pay-television queue.

Keating: “”This question is not encouraging me to put Channel Seven in the queue.”

Keiren McLeonard from Network Radio was given an answer because of her colour co-ordination and red hair.

This was Hyde at his worse. Keating couldn’t help himself; he was charged by the drug of questions, and loving it. He was into humiliation and insults and colourful language. He insulted another journalist’s former publication and The Australian was just “”wrong”.

Atkinson, by now, was wide awake. However, there was not to be much more. Perhaps Keating, himself, like Jekyll, could see the danger. He cut the matinee short. There was the big performance to come on the Hill.

In that performance, Jekyll doesn’t get a role; it is all Hyde. It is, alas for Keating, the side that nearly all of the people only ever see him in.

And yesterday on the Hill he relished in it, saying to Dr Hewson with easily mustered vituperation that he would not call an early election: “”because I want to do you slowly, mate.”

One wonders, as more and more questions will be administered in the lead up to the next election, whether Dr Jekyll will ever be able to reassert himself at will.

THOSE who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. And I am talking about recent history. Remember the Murphy affair and more recently the Greiner affair. Much of the uncertainty and injustice done in the those cases resulted from the words in the Constitution and the ICAC Act, respectively, about judging the conduct of public officials.

The Judicial Commissions Bill has just been tabled in the ACT Legislative Assembly. It sets out the procedure for the removal of judicial officers for misbehaviour or incapacity. Yet it doing so it uses very similar words to those that caused so much controversy in the Greiner and Murphy cases.

To be fair, the Bill goes some way to address the difficulties that faced Parliament in the Murphy case, but not completely.
Continue reading “1992_09_september_judicial”

The ACT Chief Justice, Justice Jeffrey Miles, says the ACT judiciary is not fully independent.

In the latest Australian Law Journal he has expressed concern that present legislative arrangements mean an ACT government could do an ACT Supreme Court judge what the Federal Government did to Justice Jim Staples.

Justice Staples was a member of the Arbitration Commission. Legislation abolished that commission, replacing it with the Industrial Relations Commission, but Justice Staples was not reappointed to the new body. No allegation of misconduct was ever made against him.
Continue reading “1992_09_september_judge”