Page 1215 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 23 August 1989
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aspect and what part should possibly be provided by the Federal Government to assist in the development of what is after all to be a national facility, in the national capital of Australia. A national cultural arts centre is what it will be, and that is what it should be developed into, for the same reason that the National Convention Centre is called the National Convention Centre. So that is what I am suggesting, Mr Speaker, and that is why that particular matter has been put into this motion.
You will also note, of course, that I have allowed the committee an appropriate way out in relation to what other matters they wish to consider. I have enabled that particular committee to ensure that they are not bound by strict terms of reference; they can go onwards and look at other aspects in relation to this particular, important matter.
I have also in this particular motion required the committee to report on the first sitting day after April 1990. I would suggest that this provides ample opportunity for the community arts groups to get together between now and, say, January to develop their particular arguments and develop their proposals. We have heard, in the development of the committee system in our early days, suggestions that we are rushing too much and we are not giving people ample opportunity to prepare their cases so that they can put them before the committee. This, Mr Speaker, I would suggest provides ample opportunity for the community groups, cultural groups and other art bodies to get their act together and to get their information together so that next year it can be presented to the committee.
At the same time, it will be possible for the committee at leisure to examine that particular information, consider it as a committee, then come back and maybe request a re-examination and take the questions a little further. That, Mr Speaker, I would suggest is something that is critically important to the future development of our committees in this place, and it is most important that that be allowed to happen. I trust that in the future, when we consider committees of this nature, that particular matter will be taken into account, and that is why I have allowed this considerable amount of time for this matter to be debated. It is important that such a critical factor in the lives of the people of the ACT should be given ample opportunity to be considered and properly debated. I commend the motion to the members of the house and I trust that it will receive bipartisan support.
MR WOOD (11.08): I support this reference and, indeed, I look forward to participating in the activities it will generate. I will enjoy those activities. I might say that I have some preconceived ideas as we set about this task. I happen to think, as I am sure we all do, that the arts are of vital importance to any community. The arts, all the facets of the arts, are an important factor, an essential ingredient, in the mass of those things that make
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