Page 4408 - Week 15 - Tuesday, 19 November 1991
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corporate services. In particular, the rental paid on some of the buildings occupied by the ACT Government and the long time in which buildings sit unoccupied should be reviewed.
At a time when the ACT Government is reducing funding available to many sectors in the ACT - in particular, health services, tourism, education and policing - I question the fit-out of ACT Government accommodation in 1990-91 which totalled $8.7m. Two buildings alone cost over $1m apiece - the Grace Bros building at $1.78m and the Centrepoint building at $1.24m. While I have always supported decentralisation of office accommodation, particularly to the Tuggeranong Town Centre, I am concerned about the location of the Office of Sport and Recreation in Tuggeranong. It was located at Tuggeranong at a cost in 1989-90; now, in 1991-92, it may be relocated back to a more central position. It seems to be an enormous waste of dollars.
I believe that a better overall long-term strategy, carefully determined, regarding accommodation and fit-out for the ACT Government Service would not only produce savings of a considerable nature but also alleviate compensation pay-outs, as in the case of the closure of the Melbourne Tourism Commission office. That office had a 10-year lease and we may well see at least a year's rent paid out as compensation to terminate that lease.
There is no doubt that business is now done differently regarding national destination travel and that the two Tourism Commission offices in Sydney and Melbourne are no longer an essential marketing tool; but to rely on the savings from rental for marketing in the short term in this financial year is hardly a sensible and appropriate course of action. To announce closure of the offices at the end of this month, when to date the final outcome is still not known, is totally wrong. What will be the total dollar figure for redundancy pay-outs to staff from the two closed offices? However, Mr Speaker, I must say that I support fully, and I really thank the Government for at least giving consideration to, those redundancy pay-outs coming from the Chief Minister's Department rather than the tourism portfolio or the tourism budget.
Tourism is our major employer in the ACT. The industry is employing some 8,000-plus people. At a time when other States are increasing tourism budgets, the ACT sees a need to reduce theirs by $1m. That $1m would have seen a significant increase in visitor numbers and an increase in the number of employees at tourism establishments. It would have particularly benefited the employment prospects of the youth in this city. They need encouragement, with youth unemployment in the ACT running as high as it is.
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