Mr DEAN ( Windermere ) - Madam President, I share the concerns of the other members in this Chamber. I think you can see the frustration that it causes us but, if you look at the frustration it will cause those farmers who are impacted on by this, our frustration is minuscule when you look at what they are going through. I know one of these farmers who is impacted on by this and he spoke to me the other night. He was savage; he was angry at what they are now having to go through to get the water that they need to water their crops.

As he said to me, if we cannot grow our crops, if we cannot get the water that we now need - with climate change there is not the water out there that there was previously - what are we to do? Are we to go into tree farming, something which is frowned upon by many - and I suggest would be very much frowned upon by Mr Knowles? What are they doing, what are they driving these farmers into, what do they want them to do? They are already doing it hard for many reasons. I think the Government in their spraying legislation may well come in for some criticism as well.

Ms Forrest - They have come into some criticism already.

Mr DEAN - They have already come in for criticism because they are also impacting on the farmer's right to do what they need to do to make a living. That is what they want to do, simply make a living.

What concerns me is that it seems that any person can simply make a complaint without any real basis for that complaint - and the member for the Western Tiers has referred to that - and at the end of the day get away with it. That is the upsetting thing about this. If I remember rightly in relation to the Meander Valley Dam, one of Mr Knowles' grounds of appeal was in relation to the Threatened Species Protection Act and they identified a species of a plant that did not even exist in that area.

Mr Aird - Perhaps they wanted to plant some.

Mr DEAN - Maybe.

People in many areas have the right to make complaints, and nobody wants to take that away from them. What we are on about here is frivolous complains, complaints being made without any basis, and that those people should be held responsible.

I want to refer to a very minor issue with the Launceston City Council. They were receiving vexatious, frivolous complaints, neighbour getting back at a neighbour in relation to dog complaints. It was an ongoing thing. It was causing terrible problems within the Council and they had to bring in a by-law where if you made a complaint in relation to that sort of thing you had to make a financial contribution. I am not quite sure what the sum is, but I think it is about $50. You had to lodge a $50 fee to make that complaint.

Ms Forrest - That's the sum total of their cost.

Mr DEAN - As a result of that procedure, the complaints in relation to dog problems have dropped off to less than half. If the complaint is proven or even if there was a basis for making that complaint - so it does not have to be proven - the money is refundable. So it is not as though we are stopping people complaining; the money is refundable in all those circumstances.

I believe that we have to invoke a system which makes people stand up and think about what they are doing. If they want to make a complaint that is their right, but they have to understand that a complaint must have a real basis, and in this instance that would seem to be wanting. We have a tribunal here that is overworked.

In the paper today the RPDC say that the amount of work that they have is extraordinary and that they are having difficulty keeping up. The RPDC were reported as saying that one of the reasons is the minor issues they are having to deal with. They are blaming local government, saying that local governments are making political decisions and not making planning decisions and that is causing them some of the problems that they currently have. These issues are emerging as well. We have to do something about it and it behoves the Government in this instance to look at some appropriate amendments to ensure that this type of activity is curtailed.

Mr Harriss - I'm glad to see you've had a change of heart.

Mr DEAN - I have had a change of heart.

Mr Harriss - You could have supported the amendment in 2004 but you didn't.

Mr DEAN - What do you mean?

Mr Harriss - I'll tell you about it later.

Mr DEAN - If there was an amendment in 2004 that I should have supported and I did not, I regret that.