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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 5 Hansard (14 May) . . Page.. 1391 ..

MR HIRD (continuing):

I ask Ms Horodny, as the proponent of the Animal Welfare (Amendment) Bill 1996, whether she can tell the Assembly whether she has consulted with the major affected stakeholder on her attempt to ban battery hen farming, namely Parkwood, which is in my electorate. Does Ms Horodny have a preconceived notion of what she is setting out to achieve? By her own standards, would it not be fair for the Assembly to censure Ms Horodny for failing to do so?

MS HORODNY: Thank you, Mr Hird. What an honour! In fact, I had a discussion with the manager, the director or whatever it is at Parkwood on the phone some months ago. We had a short discussion and agreed that we would meet personally when the time suited both of us. Yes, we have made an agreement to get together formally and have a longer discussion. Yes, I have had an initial consultation with them.

MR HIRD: I ask a supplementary question. You did not really answer the question. Do you have a preconceived notion of what you intend to achieve at the end or do you have an open mind on the whole thing? If you spoke some months ago to the major stakeholder at Parkwood on the phone once, do you intend to communicate with them and, if so, when do you intend to do that, or do you intend simply to chain yourself to a cage?

MS HORODNY: That is a very good idea, Mr Hird. It had not occurred to me, but I might actually do something like that. I have every intention of meeting with the people at Parkwood Eggs. We may do so in the very near future.

MR OSBORNE: It is always an honour to follow the two political heavyweights, Mr Hird and Ms Horodny, on the floor of the Assembly. My question is to the Chief Minister. Chief Minister, I was intrigued by the Government's recent decision to become the guarantor for the Canberra Cosmos to the tune of $200,000, given that a similar request by the Canberra Raiders some years ago was rejected by the previous Labor Government. Would you please inform the Assembly in detail what process was followed in considering the Cosmos guarantee and who made the decision?

MRS CARNELL: The Canberra Cosmos entered the National Soccer League in October 1995. I am pleased, after some recent doubts, that the team has managed to retain its position in the National Soccer League for another season. The Government is committed to the future of the Canberra Cosmos and has previously sponsored the team by way of Totalcare. More recently, the Government agreed that a guarantee of up to $200,000 would be provided to Soccer Canberra Pty Ltd for the financial support of the Canberra Cosmos. The guarantee will not extend past October 1998. By way of a precedent, there is little doubt that the Canberra Raiders had a rocky financial start and they have done an enormous amount for Canberra in terms of marketing, identity, economic benefit and so on. I understand that the previous Government made available up to $1m for the Canberra Raiders in various ways over those very tough times. The Brumbies are also providing a major asset to the international competition. The Canberra Brumbies have also managed to achieve a business incentive package from my Government.

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