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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 5 (Hansard) 16 May) . . Page.. 1352 ..

MRS CARNELL: Thank you very much, Mr Kaine. Mr Speaker, as all members would be aware, the Australian National University is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. It is perhaps fitting, then, that this year the ANU began the construction of a visitors centre at Mount Stromlo, to be known as the Stromlo Exploratory Building. When completed, the complex will provide the opportunity for Canberrans and visitors alike to gain a better understanding of the remarkable work that is undertaken by astronomers at Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring observatories. It will be a far cry from the days when Stromlo was first built, back in 1923, and was known as the Commonwealth Solar Observatory. I urge those members who have not yet visited Mount Stromlo to take the opportunity to see first-hand some of the exciting and groundbreaking research that is going on right under our noses here in Canberra.

Last year, I was lucky enough to spend three hours on a clear night with astronomers working on the 74-inch telescope - one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere - and also with the MACHO team using the 50-inch reflector. For the novices, MACHO stands for massive astronomical compact halo objects. I do not think, Mr Speaker, that is quite what the Village People had in mind, but that is what MACHO means now. The aim of the MACHO project is to identify the 90 per cent of the mass of the universe which is currently unseen, and it has been described as one of the greatest scientific experiments of the decade.

Mr Speaker, the construction of a visitors centre will also have significant benefits for the people of the ACT and our economy. It has the potential to boost tourism in the Territory, and it will also underpin the ACT's position internationally as a centre for technical excellence. It will give Canberrans and visitors a window to world-class research that is happening right here, right now, in the ACT. The cost of the Stromlo Exploratory Building is estimated at $1.5m and represents a major capital works initiative for the ANU.

Mr Moore: And jobs.

MRS CARNELL: That is exactly right - and jobs. The ACT Government has recognised the importance of the project and the benefits it will bring to the Territory. To this end, Mr Speaker, I was pleased to advise Professor Jeremy Mould, the director of the Mount Stromlo Observatory, recently that - - -

Ms Follett: Mr Speaker, on a point of order: You have previously directed that answers be concise. What the Chief Minister is doing is presenting a ministerial statement. She has been reading from a lengthy document there, and I suggest that question time is not the place to do that.

Mr Hird: On the point of order, Mr Speaker: I would like to draw your attention to standing order 39. Those people over there do not understand standing orders. They tend to use them to obstruct and deny the Government the right to answer a question which they asked.

MR SPEAKER: I do not uphold Ms Follett's point of order.

Ms Follett: Surprise me!

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