I move amendment No. 1:—
Before Section 4, and in Part II of the Bill, to insert a new section as follows:—
(1) In preparing a scheme for the approval of the Minister and in the construction operation and maintenance of any works authorised by an approved scheme the board shall have regard to the desirability of preserving the beauty of the scenery and any building or object of historical or architectural interest and of avoiding as far as possible injury to fisheries and to the stock of fish in any waters.
(2) For the purpose of giving advice to the Minister and the board, the Minister shall appoint an amenity committee and a fisheries committee, each consisting of such number of persons as he may think proper, and the board shall furnish to those committees any maps, plans, drawings or information which the committees may reasonably require and shall afford to those committees reasonable facilities for inspection.
(3) The board shall in preparing a scheme, and may at any other time, consult the amenity committee and the fisheries committee, and those committees may, upon being so consulted, or at any other time, make recommendations to the board, who shall transmit copies of every such recommendation to the Minister, together with an intimation whether or not they are prepared to accept it.
(4) If the board are not prepared to accept any recommendation made to them under the last foregoing subsection the Minister after considering any representations made to him thereon may, if the recommendation relates to a scheme which has been submitted to him for approval but has not yet been approved refuse to approve the scheme and may, in the case of any other recommendation (not being a recommendation involving the execution by the board of any works authorised by an approved scheme otherwise than in the manner set forth in such scheme), require the board to give effect to it and the board shall thereupon be bound to carry out the requirement.
(5) The board shall not, without giving prior notice to the amenity committee of their intention so to do, use or permit to be used for the exhibition of advertisements any part of any land or building owned or leased by them.
I think this amendment is self-explanatory. The main idea is to set up two committees, one which will watch the interests of the fisheries of this country, and the other which will watch the interests of what I might call the scenic beauties and the architectural and historical associations of the countryside. Now, this is a rather important matter for this country. We have a tourist trade which is of very great importance to us and which we hope in the future will be of even greater importance. The fisheries, the natural beauties and the historical buildings of our countryside are of vital importance from the point of view of the tourist trade. I do not need to stress that. In order to protect these assets, it would be of considerable help to the Minister and the Electricity Supply Board to have these two committees, which would act in an advisory capacity.
I put this forward in no contentious sense. The committees are not asking for any powers other than powers of recommendation; they are not asking for any powers of veto. I think the Minister will agree that there might arise occasions on which the advice of experts in regard to fishery matters would be useful. Such advice, tendered and acted upon at the right moment, might go a long way towards preserving the interests of the fisheries people, while at the same time not hindering in any way any electric scheme that might be proposed.
This is not in any way an attempt to tie the board's hands or the hands of the Minister. Boards similar to these are in operation in other countries and they have proved highly successful. As regards the constitution of these committees, there are fishery associations in this country and I think those people will gladly tender any information or advice they can in connection with any schemes that may be proposed and also in connection with what I might call the scenic and general amenity side of the question. Then there are people in the Board of Works who have various monuments under their control. Somebody from the Board of Works might act on that committee, together with people interested in regional planning. I would like the Minister seriously to consider this matter.
We are aware of the very great importance of electricity to this country, but we are also aware of the importance of our fisheries and our scenic attractions. The committees, I suggest, would go a very long way towards preserving these priceless assets of ours which we would like to hand on unimpaired to future generations. I shall be very glad to hear that the Minister will accept this amendment.