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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (27 February) . . Page.. 600 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

even though they did some awful things to Canberra. In fact, let us put it on the record that Mr Keating promised the National Museum on Acton some time ago, and where was a motion like this back at that time? Where was the motion then saying, "No commitment by the ACT until the Federal Government shows the colour of its money."? Do not forget that Ms Follett promised $13m worth of infrastructure support for the museum.

Ms McRae: But we did not do the land swap, did we?

MR HUMPHRIES: Forget the land swap.

Mr Moore: As I recall, I moved quite a number of motions to that effect, but they were lost at the time.

MR HUMPHRIES: You did?

Mr Moore: Absolutely.

MR HUMPHRIES: The fact is that we were in the same boat then, Mr Speaker, and we did not see this kind of motion come forward then. I am not particularly wanting to make the point that we are in a different position from the one we were in two years ago. Perhaps we are in a particularly different position.

What I do want to say, though, is that I would like to be able to press the Federal Government to actually show the colour of its money. But I have to say to the members of the Assembly that the argument that, by doing so, we might actually lose the museum altogether is a very real argument. I am not saying this just because I would like to scare the Assembly into voting against this motion; I am saying it because that point of view has been relayed directly to me both by senior bureaucrats in the Federal Government and in a public way by a senior figure associated with the development of the National Museum. If those opposite would like to listen, they might discover what evidence I have for saying that.

There have been discussions about this proposal with people in the Federal Government, and some of those people acknowledge quite openly that there are different views within the Federal Government about these matters. They have also expressed concerns about timing. The process that is going on in the Expenditure Review Committee within the Federal Government at the moment does pose a real question about just how far, and when, a commitment to the National Museum would be delivered by the Federal Government. That is true, Mr Berry. If ever I asked you to believe something I told you in this place, believe that.

The second thing, Mr Speaker, is this: Ignore what I might tell you about what I know of what is going on in the Federal Government. I ask you to believe what Mr Jim Service is saying to the community at the moment. I think I was the only member here who attended the meeting of the Friends of the National Museum a few weeks ago, at which

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