Page 205 - Week 01 - Thursday, 18 February 1993
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Mr Kaine: But not primarily an art gallery.
MR LAMONT: All of the recommendations were unanimous.
Mr Kaine: Do you want me to repeat it?
MR LAMONT: Only so long as you accept the proposition that something does not become the truth just because you repeat it so often. The simple fact is this: When the committee reported, all five members of the committee stood up in this Assembly and endorsed every one of the proposals. Every member of the committee stood up and said, "We hope that the Government endorses every one of these recommendations". As did people within the committee, people are tempted to accentuate those things that they find more attractive in the process than others. As an example, Mr Kaine turned around and said that, while supporting the recommendations and the body of the report, he had some concerns about Natex. But he supported the report, so he accentuated one particular issue in that report to make a point.
The simple fact, Mr Kaine, is that the Government, when tabling its response to this committee, has endorsed every single recommendation contained within the report. There is no resiling from that. You can stand there and blabber on about, "What about the priority?". You can do it for as long as you like. The simple fact is that the Government and this Assembly have endorsed every single recommendation. So what has happened, Il Gatto Pardo, is very simple and even you should understand this; the Government has endorsed every recommendation, and so it should.
I do not believe that it is just coincidental that we have this diatribe here this morning about what the recommendations are and how they should be implemented. You have been fishing for an issue for the last three days. You have been fishing for something to get a headline or a run on.
Mr Moore: It is nearly too late.
MR LAMONT: It is not almost too late; it is in fact too late. The simple fact, Mr Kaine, is this: The Government has endorsed the recommendations. I do not believe that they will be allowed to resile from any of those recommendations.
There was debate, as has been pointed out, as to the appropriate positioning and use of the $7m recommendation. It is the largest one - I would correct you on that point. The largest amount recommended was the $7m for the cultural centre. There was great debate, both in the committee and when the report was presented here, as to where that should take place. We took into account the fact that the original casino was proposed for section 19, that the whole process was that the cultural facilities and the redevelopment of that site would be one. That is not the case; therefore it may not be appropriate to expend all the money in relation to the premium in this one centre on the section 19 site. So the committee was quite mindful of that, as indeed the Government has been, in making its response. There was a distinct preference for the North Building to be utilised, to cover - - -
Mr Cornwell: It would be rather difficult to use the South Building, Mr Lamont.
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