Mr DEAN ( Windermere ) - I am just going to make a short contribution as well. This falls in the member for Apsley's area and quite obviously she has done a lot of work on this and quite rightly so, but I would suspect that the remainder of the members in this Chamber would know very little about this site.

Mrs Rattray-Wagner - That's why you have me.

Mr DEAN - On many occasions we are asked to make important decisions on issues and the only thing that we know about them is really what we read and what we are told in the Chamber. To make a comparison with local government in relation to issues of development, in most cases local government makes sure that there is transport to these sites. With any development - and I am talking about the Launceston City Council in particular - bus transport is provided where they go out and visit all of the development sites in the municipality, anywhere where a development is going to take place. It is pointed out to them, there is a briefing on site as to what is going to happen, the impact on neighbours and on the environment and all those other things. I suppose we could get out and do it ourselves but this really came through to me at too short notice for me to be able to find the time to go out there and organise a visit to this site.

I would have liked to have had a good look at the site because it is not that far from the Launceston City Council boundary and it impacts on other areas as well, and I realise we need water. I am not opposed to this and quite obviously I will be supporting it because we need water storage. The north-east is an area of the State that requires water as well, for many reasons.

Mrs Rattray-Wagner - Through you, Madam President - had you been on the Apsley electorate tour when we had morning tea at The Sideling lookout, you could have looked right down into where that reserve is and almost seen where the dam site was going to be. A challenge for next time: come and look for yourself.

Mr DEAN - That did not happen, I take it?

Mrs Rattray-Wagner - The Apsley electorate tour?

Mr DEAN - Did they go in and look at the site?

Mrs Rattray-Wagner - No, but we could have looked directly down onto it.

Mr DEAN - I accept that. It would be beneficial to us because we are often questioned on these issues. As the member for Western Tiers would well remember, and I was not here at that time, the Meander Valley Dam or whatever it is called now, was the cause of a lot of discussion. I suspect that in that instance many members would have gone up and looked at the site so they would have had a very good understanding and would have been familiar with it. In this instance I am not, but I do know a bit about the area because I have spoken to the Launceston City Council about it, the parks and recreation area, and they are familiar with. They know it as being a fairly important area. They say it does not impact on the Launceston City Council municipality, albeit most of those river tributaries connect up somewhere along the line and the water storage for Launceston city and all of the other suburban areas come from the catchment in that area. It is significant and important to Launceston. We need dams and I support dams in the right places. It has been referred to here that a number of tree species will be affected. We are told there will be replantings to ensure that those tree species continue in that area, and that is good. If government were to extend to us the opportunity of a guided tour of the proposed area for this dam site, it would be extremely beneficial to us. I do not know if members could take that up but I think it is something that should be offered. Some local government areas do it; Launceston City Council certainly does it. They realised that when you are making decisions and you are being questioned on the decisions, you need to know a bit about the area, rather than just what you read or are told in the Chamber. The details in relation to this did not come to us all that long ago. I think the member for Apsley said it has been around for a long time.

Mrs Rattray-Wagner - The proposal has been around for quite some time; obviously the notice of motion hasn't.

Mr DEAN - So it is not something that we have had a great opportunity to go and look at. I just wanted to raise that so that some consideration in relation to these developments might be considered by the Government in future. I know that, in this instance, I could have called for a briefing but I did not think it would be advantageous in the circumstances, whereas a tour of the site would have been. Perhaps the Government may consider it in the future. I will be supporting the motion.

Mr Hall - The Meander Dam process you talked about had to go through several approval processes; the environmental management plan process, the ACDC process, council and local government processes and the Public Works Committee. It had thorough scrutiny all the way through. It was somewhat different because it was a larger project. I would make the point that, given the time we have available, I do not think it would be feasible for all members to go and look at small projects like this, but they may go if they want to.

Mr DEAN - There may be some members who would not take the opportunity if it were extended to them. I understand that because members are busy, but in this instance I would have thought that some members around that area would have taken the opportunity. I certainly would have done. I could drive over there, I suppose, but you need to know and understand the area.

Mrs Rattray-Wagner - It is my turn to host the northern members' Christmas lunch so we might have it at the Springfield Reserve this year.

Mr Parkinson - Once the new toilets go in.

Mr Wing - We might not, too.

Members laughing.

Mr DEAN - Whilst it is a comparably small dam, I would have thought the neighbouring councils close to the Launceston municipal boundaries would have been given some briefing as to what was going on. My advice is that there was no discussion with them. I would have thought that that might have been beneficial.

Mr Hall - It's a totally different catchment.

Mr DEAN - Myrtle Park is not that far from this site.

Mr Hall - But you are over the watershed.

Mr DEAN - There is a proximity to Launceston boundaries.

Motion agreed to.