Page 1721 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 17 October 1989
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
conclusion of Floriade? If reports I hear are correct, it seems people were picking flowers, believing they were freely available. It is claimed there has been widespread picking of flowers. I heard a report that the flowers have been ploughed in. Could the Minister tell us how Floriade finished on this occasion and what would be the most desirable way for it to finish in respect of the disposal of flowers?
MRS GRASSBY: May I say that Floriade did finish with a great burst of spring on Sunday, and on Monday we proceeded to pick the flowers. One radio station said they were being ploughed in; they were not. I took two baskets - one to Calvary Hospital and the other one to Morling Lodge - and presented them. The others were taken around. The unfortunate part about it was that people thought that they were free for all, and I understand they were rushing down with their buckets and yanking the bulbs out of the ground, which was a pity because apparently they are no good if you yank them out of the ground like that. Because all the bulbs do not belong to us and they have to be returned to certain people, it did make us very upset.
Not only that, but also we even had one of the bonsai trees, which is worth about $300, stolen from the inside nursery which was a great upset to us because we thought the people of Canberra would like to enjoy these sorts of things, not think they had the right to take them home. The only unseemliness, I think, was when people were trying to find their way out of the park the night I gave the cocktail party. I think that would be the only unseemliness there would have been.
Mowing Equipment
MR STEFANIAK: My question too is addressed to the Minister for Housing and Urban Services, but it has nothing to do with cocktail parties. During the Estimates Committee hearing, your department provided me with an answer in relation to five Hustler mowers being bought from Albury. I asked you a question in relation to why they were being bought when contractors could supply them more cheaply. Your reply was that the saving to the Government by owning a Hustler mower and not paying a contractor was between $1,500 and $2,700 per annum. My question to you is: how is that figure calculated? I would like a detailed answer, including all overheads.
MRS GRASSBY: Seeing you would like a detailed answer - and I would like to give you a detailed one because I would never like to disappoint you, Mr Stefaniak - you shall have that tomorrow.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .