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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 3 Hansard (8 April) . . Page.. 667 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

As the definition of "ecotourism" says, a definition of "ecologically sustainable" also involves an appropriate return to the local community and long-term conservation of the resource. What mechanisms we should put in place for ensuring that industry does contribute, not only to the promotion of tourism and infrastructure costs but also to the maintenance of the environmental resources upon which it depends, is an issue that requires careful consideration.

The other area that is of concern about this Bill, and is obviously related, is the need for proper accountability to the Assembly and the public for the activities and plans of the corporation. This legislation as it stands has no mechanism by which the Assembly would be informed about the contents of business plans or the commercial activities of the corporation. I will be moving an amendment that, if passed, will require the Minister to table in the Assembly within 15 sitting days a statement detailing particulars of any commercial ventures. We will also be calling for the business plans to be tabled in the Assembly within three sitting days and quarterly reports within six. Although this is not in the legislation, I would like to put forward the idea that the relevant Assembly committees - certainly Economic Development and Tourism and perhaps also Planning and Environment - should be forwarded a copy of the business plan for their consideration. It may also be appropriate for the Minister to consult with the committee or committees in the development stage.

Although this legislation does not create a Territory-owned corporation, we have seen in the case of Totalcare and ACTEW that the Government does wipe its hands of any responsibility for the activity of these organisations. I hope this is not the case with this corporation. In regard to the amendments Mr Kaine and I are proposing, we have discussed these matters already and are in agreement on most of them. Mr Kaine will be proposing some of them. We may have to think in the future of other provisions to ensure greater accountability and to ensure that environmental protection is taken very seriously.

MR WOOD (11.49): Mr Speaker, I think it is fair to say that over most of Canberra's history, governments, or the bureaucracies that previously ran Canberra, took it fairly easy in respect of the approach to tourism promotion. It was easy to rely on our major institutions - the ones that are so obvious - and on the need for many people to come to Canberra for business or political purposes, and tourists came to Canberra in good numbers. Since self-government, the focus on tourism has changed and intensified as we recognise the direct benefit that tourism brings to the Territory and the need to compete with other parts of Australia. There is now a new imperative, namely, that Canberra is in recession, so we need to do more to lift our efforts in a whole range of areas that will bring rather immediate and direct benefit to the Territory.

There are few areas that bring a better return for money spent on promotion than tourism. That is widely recognised; we do not need to trot out the statistics and the surveys that reveal that. So it is imperative that the Government take extra measures to increase the flow of tourists into Canberra. If this body does that, well and good. Mr Corbell has said that, and the Labor Party is supporting the Bill. But there is one thing over and above anything else that will bring tourists to Canberra, as Mr Corbell said, and that is expenditure on promotion. We simply are not doing enough.

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