Page 5865 - Week 18 - Wednesday, 11 December 1991
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Mr Speaker, the Bill I have presented to the house today is along similar lines to the New South Wales Tourist Commission Act and it will restructure the existing ACT Tourism Commission as a statutory authority under a commission of part-time members. The Bill takes into consideration the existing appointments of tourism commissioners and intends those appointments to continue, with the exception of the CEO position, which will become the general manager of the commission, who would be appointed by the commission and be responsible to it for the management of the affairs of the commission. The general manager and the staff of the commission will be employed on public service terms and conditions, except where alternative arrangements are specifically approved.
Mr Speaker, currently the commission is restructuring and I understand that positions are also being advertised. The commission offices in both Sydney and Melbourne have been closed to reorientate the small amount of funds to a more marketing approach. There is no doubt that business is now done differently by the consumer than in the past. There is, in my view, no longer a need for tourism offices in Sydney and Melbourne. There is, however, a very great need to concentrate on our market, on our nearest neighbours, Sydney's west.
January school holidays, as I said earlier, always saw a time of high occupancy in this city. There is no doubt that the other States and the Northern Territory have become more competitive for the visitor market than we in Canberra. I support the industry's view that we can surpass that competition yet again. The opportunity is before us today. The tourism industry should be allowed to get on and do what they do best. Only when the Tourism Commission becomes a statutory authority will that be achieved.
Mr Speaker, in conclusion, I know many staff of the commission and I am aware that one thing that was done badly when the commission was announced under the former Alliance Government was that the staff were not informed until after the announcement. I have to say that I apologise to the staff for not letting them know about the introduction of this Bill today. For the commission staff, this time it really does not mean change. What it will achieve will be to put our most important industry on a sound foundation at long last. I do have to say, Mr Speaker, that I would like to have seen this Bill introduced earlier than this. It was unfortunate that this was the earliest I could achieve in having the Bill drafted and getting it to the house. I also urge members that there be further private members business so that this can be debated before the Assembly rises.
MR SPEAKER: Do you wish to present an explanatory memorandum, Mrs Nolan?
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