4 February 2009

Environmental governance under scrutiny - sort of...

| Gungahlin Al
Join the conversation
8

According to the ACT Assembly, the Territory’s environmental and sustainability issues (or rather the annual and financial reporting thereof) are going to get a serious looking over, and the public is invited to attend.

Only problem is, the first notice about it was issued today, for a half-day hearing tomorrow. Dry stuff for many I’m sure. But how open and accountable is less than one day’s notice of a public hearing, regardless of the subject matter? We’re off to a good start on the whole new ‘open and accountable’ approach…

For anyone who is interested/available at short notice a copy of the announcement can be found online.

Join the conversation

8
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest
Gungahlin Al2:37 pm 05 Feb 09

Except that the Assembly streaming requires Quicktime, which many departmental desktops do not have installed…

Not too late to catch the hearing live via webstream – http://www.parliament.act.gov.au
All Assembly events can be viewed on-line – as can information about future hearings and other committee inquiries. Sorry you missed the earlier media release!

Gungahlin Al said :

Econman: my position – based on experience from both sides of the issue – is (I’m sure you’re not surprised to hear) diametrically opposed to yours. A ‘leader’ not prepared to consult is someone without faith in their subject matter. Or themselves.

Depends on the nature of the issue and how much consultation.

A leader who does not consult at all should think about packing their bags and asking for a diplomatic posting.

But the other extreme is the syndrome known variously as ‘Death By Consensus’ or ‘Death by 27,000 Rounds of Consultation’.

One that tickled my funny bone some years ago was when the gubermint announced they were going to open consultation with the public on a new number-plate numbering system as the then system was about to expire: Y[alpha][alpha][num][num][num] had reached its end.

Laugh? I nearly soiled myself. Who gives a flying fig what solution you reach for a number-plate? (Apart from the try-hards with the personalised plates like ‘2HOT4U’, ‘SLEEK1’, ‘SXYBCH’ etc.)

Make a decision and implement it.

“..the Territory’s environmental and sustainability issues..” — yeah, I’d be expecting a lot more notice and a lot more visibility. Did I say ‘expecting’?

Scratch that and replace with ‘wanting’.

tea and biscuits?

I could possibly go if you want me to. Do you think I should?

Gungahlin Al10:12 pm 04 Feb 09

No – a crunch time at work, but could have been interesting – with more notice.

Econman: my position – based on experience from both sides of the issue – is (I’m sure you’re not surprised to hear) diametrically opposed to yours. A ‘leader’ not prepared to consult is someone without faith in their subject matter. Or themselves.

Are you going, Gungahlin Al?

Consultation is the death of leadership. Perhaps they have worked this out.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.