Ending the use of drinking water to water Parliament’s lawns, an ACT population and growth study, native fauna corridors, a charge on plastic bags at shops and a ban on battery hens are among a comprehensive log of claims for the next Assembly made public yesterday by the Canberra Conservation Council. The Public Service should end provision of cars and parking fees as part of pay packages, the log said. The log ranged across 11 policy areas including nature conservation, air and water, planning, transport, waste and animal welfare.
The president of the council, Jacqui Rees, called also for the replacement of “”the undesirable system of patronage through ministerial appointment to government bodies” with a system of public nomination and vetting of appointments. On water, the council wanted lake water, grey water and storm water to be used for public place park watering, especially in the Triangle. It called for schemes to encourage reuse of waste water at private dwellings. It said the ACT should seek full membership on the Murray-Darling Basin Commission. On air, it sought air testing for benzene and other compounds in unleaded fuel; enforcement of penalties on excess pollution from fuel-burning heaters and stoves; encouragement of firewood plantations; mandatory public disclosure of excess pollution levels. “”Growth” should be replaced by sustainability as the imperative for planning and as a goal for industry.
A study on the ecological and human capacity of the Act and region should be undertaken with regular reassessments. On planning, it called for the Territory Plan to be replaced with a metropolitan strategy that respected the multi-centred nature of Canberra and integration with the landscape; reinstatement of a working leasehold system; public land development; removal of developer-driven policies such as the B1 and B2 zones in the Territory Plan; removal of al public financial encouragement for private urban renewal and urban consolidation projects; no arbitrary targets like the 50-50 policy; proceed quickly with Gungahlin Town Centre while protecting endangered species; plan for relocation of government offices to Gungahlin. The council called for a response from Assembly candidates and was organising a forum on February 11 for them to be presented. The Minister for the Environment, Bill Wood, said the Follett Government was a leader in environmental legislation. While it co-operated with environmental groups it set the agenda rather than being reactive, but he expected he would respond in detail to the log of claims. Opposition Leader Kate Carnell said the Liberal Party would be responding in detail.
Ms Rees acknowledged the ACT was a leader in environmental matters compared to the states, but the states were poor performers and the ACT had inherited a good environmental base from the Commonwealth at self-government and it was important that that not be eroded, which had happened in the planning area. On energy, the council sought enforceable energy guidelines for buildings and equipment in the ACT; an energy advisory service to co-ordinate energy efficiency initiatives; incentives to encourage energy-efficient refitting of buildings. It said households should be provided with composting bins at cost price, bottle deposits should be given a trial and six-pack plastic rings should be banned as a menace to wildlife. On transport, the council wanted the Civic-Gungahlin freeways abandoned and a transparent assessment of public-transport options. It sought a ban on battery hens, replacing the system with avairy systems and ultimately free-range, and a ban on use of animals in laboratory experiments.
In nature conservation, it sought stronger protection for endangered native flora and fauna _ particularly in grasslands. It called for native plantings in public places, except in places of heritage listing where there are exotics. It said planting exotics in fauna corridors was self-defeating. Council executive director Craig Darlington rejected the unproductive label “”plant racist” by Deputy Chief Minister David Lamont saying the council’s native-plant prescriptions applied to corridors and public places, not private gardens. Mr Darlington said he was disappointed that the Government had released its Gungahlin landscape policy and other critical policies after the Assembly’s last sitting before the election. The council made other detailed recommendations in all environmental areas and other recommendations about accountability and openness in government generally. It called for the identification of the estimated 160 contaminated sites in the ACT and for the government to deal quickly with financial accountability and compensation.