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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (27 February) . . Page.. 601 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

Mr Service spoke and outlined the position that he and other members of that committee that examined the sites had taken in relation to that issue. I think Winifred Ross, the chairman of Friends of the National Museum, was also there and made some comments along those lines.

What Mr Service said to that meeting was - and this was in the context of a motion from the meeting to reject the Acton site and reaffirm the Yarramundi site - "You run a real risk that you will assist the forces of darkness" - or some emotive phrase like that - "within the Federal Government if you have a motion tonight to not proceed with the Acton Peninsula. That is the risk you run". He told that to the public meeting. He was the chair of the steering committee that examined the sites.

Mr Berry: He would not be trying to scare them, would he?

MR HUMPHRIES: I think Mr Service was speaking the truth, because I have heard it confirmed from other sources and I believe that it is true. Let me make it quite clear: I would love to put pressure on the Federal Government. If this motion succeeds only in putting pressure on the Federal Government, then that will be great. But I just do not feel confident that that is all we are going to do with this. We may actually lose the National Museum altogether. I repeat: We may actually lose the National Museum altogether. I want no part of that. That museum is a very important project for this city, for this nation and for our Centenary of Federation. We cannot afford to put it at risk. But we do if we indicate, from the ACT's point of view, that we might not deliver on our end of the bargain which has been reached.

Mr Osborne: Rubbish!

MR HUMPHRIES: That is true. That is the risk we run. It may not come to pass. It may be that the signals we are sending somehow are that we are actually more committed to the museum than we are to making political points. That may be the case. But why are we taking this risk? We gain nothing from this.

It has been suggested that we will waste $8m by proceeding over the next two months with the demolition of the buildings on the Acton Peninsula. But, of course, we do not waste the money. Even if we demolish those buildings and the site stands vacant for 20 years, the ACT gets the Kingston foreshore in exchange. So, we do not, under any stretch of the imagination, waste $8m. We got two things out of it.

Members interjected.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, those opposite have shown no interest in listening to this debate. Mr Speaker, I do not think we lose out in that equation. We certainly have something to show for it, something worth infinitely more than $8m; but what we do end up with is a situation where we might actually tip the balance against the museum within the Federal Government.

I come here today primarily as a friend of the National Museum, and I will say quite bluntly that, for a long time, I was a firm supporter of the position that we should build the museum at Yarramundi.

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