Page 2746 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 20 October 1992
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Madam Speaker, what I have been saying so far is that you must recognise the root cause of the criticism, and to a certain extent we have to expect it. However, Madam Speaker, the 60 Minutes program went beyond this. It was a deliberate attempt to bag Canberra; it was an appeal to all those who love to criticise Canberra, for the reasons I have mentioned. It was a very cheap shot. It did far more to question Richard Carleton's credibility, and, indeed, that of 60 Minutes, than any shortcomings in the national capital.
If Mr Carleton had the interests of this country at heart he would at least have attempted to be more objective, and at the very least accurate and factual. He said nothing which reflects the real community. From this report you would hardly imagine that Canberra operated as a normal community, with normal community organisations, normal community interests, and normal community problems. He did not talk about Canberra's wonderful cultural pursuits, or the pursuits of the many voluntary organisations. All the voluntary community associations that make major contributions to the quality of life in Canberra, to events such as the Canberra Festival, Floriade, Australia Day, Summernats, the Canberra Show, sports carnivals, multicultural events, and many more, are all testimonies of the strength of community participation in the Canberra way of life. Most of these events were developed with a lot of hard work and heartache from a great many people who have tremendous community spirit because they happen to like the place in which they live, and were prepared to do something about it.
People outside Canberra think that because we have good roads and buildings everyone is on clover. That could not be further from the truth. There are many public servants also feeling the pinch. There are many business people in Canberra who have been drastically affected by the recession. Many have folded. Many are struggling to hang on. Unemployment is a serious problem. We have hardly escaped the recession. The only aspect of the report that touched remotely on the truth was the bit on ACTION buses, but even that he got wrong.
Clearly the 60 Minutes report was simply lacking in substance and truth, and clearly Mr Carleton should lift his game if he wants any credibility in his reporting. One can only wonder whether in some respects it would have been better to have totally ignored the program. I am fortunate not to have watched it. I have gained what it contained only from reading the newspapers. If we had totally ignored it, it would have signalled to Mr Carleton and his cohorts the phoney things that he said, and that this community can rise above such criticism. The Chief Minister's point of view in this regard was very well taken.
MR WOOD (Minister for Education and Training, Minister for the Arts and Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning) (4.00): Madam Speaker, two points stated alone will place this matter in context. The program was 60 Minutes; the reporter was Richard Carleton. What more needs to be said?
MADAM SPEAKER: This discussion is now concluded.
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