Page 4289 - Week 15 - Tuesday, 20 November 1990
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hearing into program 15.5, the committee heard that there was no direct link or liaison between the ACT Tourism Commission and the ACT Office of Sport, Recreation and Racing.
The committee was advised by the ACT statistician that sport contributed a certain figure to the tourism industry in the last 12 months, some $7.39m. Certainly, from my experience, I think it would be considerably more than that; but, at any rate, that was the figure. And it was indicated that there was not all that much assistance from the Tourism Commission. It is early days yet.
The relevant Ministers indicated that certainly that was something that should be looked into and improved, and it was a very valuable point that came up. It enabled the committee to recommend that the Tourism Commission and the ACT Office of Sport, Recreation and Racing develop a coordinated process to increase the benefits to the ACT from tourism arising from sporting events. A survey was done at the Australia Day Sports Carnival, where about 40 different sports are played, and I think that indicated that over $4m came into the ACT coffers through the people who came to Canberra and spent it on that three-day weekend.
Indeed, that is a significant injection of funds, and a significant proportion of that, I think, estimated by the ACT statistician. Of course, there are other events which come to Canberra and which can come in the future, especially some major events such as the Masters Games and Golden Oldies competition, which, experience in other States shows, brings considerably more than $4m to a Territory or a State. I think that is a very positive recommendation.
I now want to dwell on the future estimates committees. Indeed, the report deals with this at page 17. The committee thought that the timing and indeed the intensity of the Estimates Committee hearings each year will, of course, be compacted by necessity into a very short period of time; that is, the time between the introduction of the Appropriation Bill and the passage of the Bill, which is necessary to avert the cessation of Supply. The sittings of this Assembly, of course, also limit the time available to the committee.
The committee believes that there are a number of difficulties arising out of the timing of the establishment of the committee. In particular, the Ministers and the agencies received short notice of the timetable for the hearings, plus the details of the request for extra information. The committee felt that the Estimates Committee should be formed as early as is possible, and we felt that the committee could be formed prior to the Assembly agreeing in principle to the Appropriation Bill, as that Bill can be referred to the committee for an examination at that stage and the necessary preliminary work could be undertaken by the committee.
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