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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 5 Hansard (14 May) . . Page.. 1198 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

I was delighted last month to join with Commonwealth Funds Management and the Stock Exchange to open the National Capital Investment Centre right in the heart of Civic. The centre will be leased and managed by CFM staff and will provide a new investment service to Canberrans. They will also conduct superannuation and general investment seminars, together with specific information sessions for ACT and Commonwealth public servants. Through this investment centre, the Australian Stock Exchange will be able to provide information on equities investments and referrals to stockbrokers and will also have a wide variety of investment publications for sale; and, of course, there is the electronic share market board which provides regular share price updates to passers-by and keen investors such as obviously at least one of those opposite from the Labor Party.

How did the National Capital Investment Centre come about, Mr Speaker? It came about for two reasons: First, because there are 42,000 private shareholders in the ACT, making the setting-up of the centre a smart business move for both the ASX and CFM; and, secondly, because this Government got off its bottom and pursued an investment opportunity instead of sitting around and telling everyone how wonderful we were, in the vain hope that they would come to us and set up a new business opportunity in Canberra if we did nothing. The reality is that we do not do nothing. We get out there and we make it happen.

The National Capital Investment Centre is but one example of this new Government's drive to breathe life into the ACT economy, to reduce our reliance on the public sector and to provide new job and investment opportunities in Canberra. I think this outstrips anything that the Labor MLAs opposite were able to produce during their years in government. I will continue to take that sort of can-do approach to government because we on this side of the house believe that our city has a wonderful future, and there is absolutely no point in talking it down the whole time. We can make this city work. Yes, it will be difficult for the next little while, but there is no point in just knock, knock, knock, whinge, whinge, whinge, which is what we hear from those opposite.

MS TUCKER: My question to the Attorney-General relates to domestic violence. I have given the Minister some notice of this question. Ms Follett has recently introduced a Bill to make stalking a criminal offence in the ACT. This Bill was based on recommendations from one section of the Community Law Reform Committee report on domestic violence. There are many other very important recommendations made in this report which require urgent attention, and it is by implementing this report in full that we can address all the issues raised in this very comprehensive study. My question is: Is this a priority area of the Government, and can the Minister provide a guarantee that the Government will implement the recommendations of the report in full?

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