Page 1339 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 16 April 1991
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The fence was seen as a way of ensuring that at least some of the running costs associated with the Stage could be recovered.
It has always been envisaged that Stage '88 would primarily be used for free events. That is not to say that the event organisers would not pay some hiring charge for the use of the facility, but clearly these rates would need to be realistic. There are also some entrepreneurs, particularly in the contemporary music field, who would want to use such a venue for commercial events. Such activity would obviously attract a more substantial hire charge than a free community event. However, without a method of charging for admission - that is, through the use of a fence - no such commercial events can occur. The committee noted that:
The Canberra Theatre Centre, the current managers of Stage '88, and the ACT Government pressed very strongly for the fence on the basis of a contribution to the recurrent funding for the Stage.
However, I would also argue that this is not simply an issue of improving the income of Stage '88; it is about improving the viability of a public venue. Without the capacity to occasionally hire the venue to commercial promoters, an additional source of entertainment would be shut off to the community and the Government will be unable to maximise the use of this important public facility.
The third argument in support of the fence acknowledged by the committee was:
That the availability of the fence could provide control over crowds and vandalism.
For most events at Stage '88 the use of a fence for crowd control would be quite inappropriate. There is, however, one very important activity where the use of the fence for crowd control is essential. It is the holding of special events such as alcohol-free concerts for young people. As Minister for Health, I am most heartened by the current campaigns to raise community awareness of the effects of drugs and alcohol. This is particularly important for young people. The Government's initiative in creating the ACT Health Promotion Fund is a vital part of these efforts. The fence would make possible the holding of regular alcohol-free concerts for the Territory's youth. This alone is reason for construction of the fence as proposed.
There are, of course, some arguments against the fence. I would endorse the standing committee's view that:
The principal argument against the fence is one that might be called an aesthetic argument and is concerned mainly with the alienation of any part of Commonwealth Park.
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