Page 1210 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 24 April 1990
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Mr Wood: Well, you were not at one I went to recently either.
MR JENSEN: No, but I was at the one on Sunday.
Mr Wood: If you knew anything about it, you would know that this happens all over the city pretty well every weekend.
MR JENSEN: I was just making a comment. The Alliance Government demonstrates its commitment to heritage in a variety of ways - - -
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr Jensen, your time has expired.
DR KINLOCH (4.32): I was very pleased indeed to hear the Labor Party's initiative in this MPI which we all care about. It is a bipartisan issue in this chamber. We do need to be very careful about destroying any part of our heritage. I was pleased, for example, to hear the Leader of the Opposition talk about the Capitol Theatre. Would that we had that building back again!
Heritage does not necessarily have to be high culture or even aesthetically superior. Heritage is what people care about. Also one needs to be well aware that what needs to be maintained may not necessarily be seen as some kind of museum piece; it may be part of the people's culture. I agree with the point about the Causeway houses.
In these closing minutes of this debate, that brings me to the question of the centre of Canberra - a very special space and place. The concept of space and place was, I thought, well described by Mr Wood. I refer to that place which has had many ethnic group gatherings, folk dancing and New Year's Eve parties. The Raiders met there on that grand occasion when they returned from beating Balmain. I refer, of course, to Civic Square. Civic Square is part of the heritage of this city. The North and South Buildings are part of the heritage of this city. We should not allow the heritage of the people of Canberra to be damaged.
Mr Berry: We will have a casino in our heritage.
DR KINLOCH: Mr Berry, please! Given the initiative from the Labor Party, I want to put before you this very important matter. The North and South Buildings must be maintained for the heritage of the people of Canberra.
Mr Moore: You are not interested in the heritage. This is a casino argument.
DR KINLOCH: It does not matter, Mr Moore, if those buildings are ugly or not. I happen to like them. The point is, like the Capitol Theatre, they are part of the history of this Territory. They are a reminder of the 1960s. Civic Square is part of our heritage of the 1960s.
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