1) That no consultation meetings
take place between December 1 and February 1;
2) That no submissions are due within the period December 1 and
February 1;
3) That there be consultation on the Terms of Reference for any
consultation;
4) That all alternatives, including the do nothing option, be
part of the consultation;
5) When copies of reports or documents are to be provided to
members attending the consultation there should be a copy for
each member and an extra copy for their Group;
6) That relevant information be provided in adequate time (to be
negotiated will all parties, up to one month before consultation
starts) before such meetings so that representatives have time to
peruse such information, discuss the contents with other members
of their group or members of other groups, and seek information
from other sources if necessary before attending;
7) That each group member be supplied with a copy of the
Consultation Policy under which the consultation will take place,
or with the guidelines for such consultation and the Terms Of
Reference, before any consultation starts;
8) That a Group or Group Members need not resort to Freedom Of
Information requests to access information or reports about the
issue being consulted on;
9) That each group member be supplied with a copy or a list of
the relevant legislation or regulation under which the
consultation will operate. e.g. Health Act, Transport Act,
Fisheries Act, BCC Town Plan, Regional Planning etc.;
10) That expenses for attending meetings should be considered
essential. These expenses including child care, car travelling
allowance and car parking fees, or public transport costs
including taxi fares to and from public transport to attend
meetings, be provided for the community representatives;
11) That unless otherwise agreed to by participants that an
agreed hourly rate be paid to offset community environmental
group participation and for the preparation of submissions. The
rate for the Community Liaison Committee is proposed at $125 per
hour (half the commercial rate for typical representatives);
12) That funds be available to Group members. To offset the costs
to arrange their Group meetings, & reproduce information and
its distribution to other group members. Initially, the amount
for the Community Liaison Committee consultation is proposed at
$2,500 per month for the period of the consultation, and longer
as necessary or mutually agreed;
13) That if the meetings start or finish around noon to 1 pm that
a light lunch be provided or sufficient money be provided for
same. Similarly, should the Community Liaison Committee elect to
meet in the mornings or the evenings, appropriate meals and
refreshments be available;
14) That a copies of Draft and Final Draft reports be supplied to
each group member attending, and community group, without charge;
15) That any public consultation resulting in a report or
"Community Update" or the like should also result in
dissenting reports of the community groups being published;
16) That only smoke-free environments be used as venues for
consultations;
17) That Government Departments with involvement in the issue be
represented at such consultation meetings and be available to
answer questions relating to their department or failing to be
able to answer, then submit a written answer to the person or
Group who raised the question, within an agreed acceptable time.
The Biohazard Action Alliance Groupsą principles will be widely
distributed to all Government Departments, and other bodies
undertaking government and private consultation contracts and
other environmental community groups around SE Queensland.
Our Group is of the opinion that the, user pays principle
applies, and if the Government or consultants in private
enterprise want our local knowledge, experience and expert
advice, that we should be reimbursed and compensated for our
valuable time and effort.
Most groups have limited resources and are not funded by Federal,
State or Local Government. We would expect therefore that you
understand our position and will make adjustments in the way you
tender for consultation work for all your clients.
We would expect that you would give immediate consideration to
these matters.
We would appreciate a prompt response in regard to our concerns
over all these matters.
This page is maintained by
The Rivermouth Action Group Inc
as a community service.