Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 11 Hansard (12 December) . . Page.. 2890 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

opportunities for Canberra's private sector. The Chamber of Commerce also plans to investigate the potential for displays of Japanese language Canberra brochures and products in display homes built by Mori Ltd, a Japanese company which is building prefabricated kit houses developed by City Limits Development.

We will also pursue significant opportunities in the area of sport. For example, two teams from Japan's $7 billion J-League Soccer Association will visit Canberra next February. One of them is currently second on the soccer ladder in Japan. The teams will bring a number of media personnel and training coaches with them. This aspect alone offers opportunities to market Canberra as a targeted sector for the Japanese community. We will pursue opportunities for young ACT school students to participate in skills sessions with some of the leading Japanese soccer players during their visit to Canberra. The Bureau of Sport, Recreation and Racing, in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Sport, will also follow up the delegation's meeting with sports officials and work to further raise the profile of Canberra as a city with excellent training facilities and a strong interest in providing these facilities for pre-season training sessions and for pre-Olympic acclimatisation and training purposes.

Mr Speaker, many of the private sector delegates have advised that the visit provided an excellent opportunity to market their own products and services. In fact, they have indicated that they will compile a comprehensive report detailing potential benefits and business opportunities that can be followed up now and in the future. I hope that this report will be the first of many and, unlike my predecessor, Rosemary Follett, I will regularly update the Assembly on the progress of the delegation's initiatives and on other sister city related activities.

Mr Speaker, this visit to Japan taught us all that we must broaden our horizons if we are to move ahead. We are only a very small player on the international stage, but we do have considerable strengths in a number of fields, and we can market them to our advantage if we are prepared to do it in a planned and smart way. The delegation confirmed the importance of the sister city relationship to the Canberra community and the excellent window of opportunity it offers to local business wishing to access a particularly difficult market. It also demonstrated the economic, educational, and sporting and cultural benefits that result from well-managed sister city relationships and confirmed the importance of pursuing the ACT Government's commitment to marketing Canberra internationally. In line with this commitment, a new Canberra-Nara sister city committee will be appointed to better reflect the economic and educational interests of the relationship. I am also considering the appointment of an agent in Japan for a period, with a brief to assist local businesses interested in accessing the Japanese market and to advise the ACT Government about potential business opportunities and joint ventures.

Mr Speaker, the costs of the delegation are currently being acquitted by the Department of Business, the Arts, Sport and Tourism, but I can say that they will certainly come in under the $55,000 I previously estimated. (Extension of time granted) To put the costs of the delegation in perspective, it is important to note that an increase of just one per cent in the number of Japanese visitors to Canberra would result in an additional $1m flowing into our local economy. If our delegation manages to achieve even a small percentage of this figure on an ongoing basis, I will consider the sum of $55,000 very well

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .