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Mr ANDERSON (Londonderry) [5.53 p.m.]: Tonight I draw to the attention of honourable members the proposed development of the Australian Defence Industries [ADI] site, which comprises 1,536 hectares in the St Marys area in my electorate. The project is a joint venture between the Federal Government and the Delfin Lend Lease consortium. I listened with interest to some of the comments made by speakers in the debate on the matter of public importance raised by the honourable member for Miranda as they said some of the things I want to say. The Federal Government, the owner and developer of the site, must take on board its responsibility to tell those in the local community what is to happen on the site and what they can expect. I do not have any difficulty with the proposal, but I am concerned about the fact that the developers have not seen fit to inform my community about what is going on.
For a number of years I have asked that the community be informed about the project. During the last Federal election I was working in a polling booth at Cambridge Park. People who lived along Palmyra Road at Wilmont told me that Cumberland Plain, which is located directly opposite their properties, was to be cleared. However, that is not what is to happen. The master plan does not provide for the clearing of Cumberland Plain. It will be fenced off and protected. The developer should tell those in my community who are concerned about the matter what is to be protected. The developers have not seen fit to hold one public meeting to inform members of my community about their intentions, and they have not asked for community opinion.
It is incumbent on all major developers to tell local communities what is going on. I do not believe this problem is restricted to this ADI site; I believe it happens across the State. In the period 1995 to 1999 when I was the member for St Marys prior to the abolition of that seat, I remember a consortium presenting me with a leaflet and seeking my concurrence on a development proposal. The consortium wanted to distribute that leaflet to the community, but that never happened. It is still sitting in a box in some engineer's office. The community was never told what to expect, and it has not been told about the current proposal. The consortium should inform my community that 930 hectares of this 1,535-hectare site will be kept as open space.
No other development in Australia includes the open space component that is proposed for this site, but people in my electorate are not aware of that fact. It has been estimated that there are between 640 and 670 kangaroos on that site. People are genuinely concerned about those kangaroos. Somebody has said that they will be destroyed, but that is not the case. However, the consortium has not told people in my electorate. Nobody knows what will happen to those kangaroos. The company told me that nothing will happen to those kangaroos and that they will be included in the conservation areas. Why does the company not tell the people in my electorate and the rest of western Sydney that this area will be protected and well cared for? I call on that consortium to do so.