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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 7 Hansard (25 June) . . Page.. 2103 ..

MR KAINE (continuing):

that he wants; but he must put up something substantive that says that the determinations that this Government has made about his priorities can be improved upon. I did not hear him say that they could be improved upon. He just said that they were wrong. He made no substantive proposals whatsoever for improving our approach to tourism.

He did say, Mr Speaker, that in his short time in this place - those were his words - he had learnt a few things. I do not think he has learnt anything. He certainly seems to believe that in his own short time in this place, which he acknowledges, he has become an expert on marketing. I submit that, if he thinks his views on marketing are all that hot, then he should go and talk to David Marshall about them. I am sure that David would love to have some constructive criticism as to how our marketing could be improved. David Marshall spends his entire life figuring out how best to use the dollars that he has. I am sure that he would love some constructive input from marketing expert Corbell from the other side of the house, if he has any. But the fact is, Mr Speaker - - -

Mr Corbell: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I understand that it is against standing orders not to refer to members by their proper title.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Corbell, I do uphold the point of order.

MR KAINE: Mr Speaker, Mr Corbell spent a lot of time attacking our strategies, our priorities and our policies. If anyone needs any further proof of the lack of thought of the Labor Party on these issues - although they have lots to say, but nothing constructive - I suggest that they go to the Labor Party's home page. If you want to find out what the Labor Party's policies are, it tells you, "We are still working on them, and we will tell you before the next election". That is the Labor Party's policy. And Mr Corbell has the effrontery to lecture us about policies. Mr Speaker, I ask you!

MR CORBELL (4.13): I would like to respond to some of the points that the Minister made in his speech. First of all, I must have touched some nerve for the Minister to be so edgy about this issue. I must have touched some frayed nerve about tourism in the ACT. I would like to inform the Minister of one thing. I am not here to please him. If I were, I would not be doing my job. I would like to place that on the record very clearly.

I would like to address some of the other misrepresentations that the Minister made in his speech. As he was willing to make some comment about my capacity as spokesperson on tourism, I would like to make some comment about his capacity as Minister for Tourism. My first comment is in relation to his comments on the Labor Party's position on the establishment of the Canberra Tourism and Events Corporation. If the Minister had had time to read Hansard or indeed used his extensive staff to check Hansard for him, he would have found that the Labor Party supported the establishment of the Canberra Tourism and Events Corporation conditionally. The condition was that, to the extent to which it provided confidence to the business of the tourism industry in Canberra, we welcomed it. That is true. You will find it in Hansard. We made the comment also that we felt it was not much more than a change in name only. If you read Hansard, Minister, you would discover that. Indeed, if you had listened to my speech properly the first time around, I would not be needing to stand again here to clarify it for you.

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