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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 1 Hansard (28 April) . . Page.. 70 ..

Mr Berry: No. It is not about scope. You just do not understand. I just cannot believe that you do not understand what I am talking about.

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, tell him to sit down, would you? With regard to jobs, one thing you can be confident of is that, if a Territory-owned company goes broke, it will not have anybody working for it.

MR WOOD: Mr Speaker, my question is to the Chief Minister also. Chief Minister, in January you were reported as stating that "up to 70 full-time jobs" would be created by increasing the proportion of ACTTAB turnover provided to the Racecourse Development Fund. Have the jobs eventuated? That is the simple question. To take it further, what processes exist for an evaluation of return on investments of that nature, such as forgoing an amount of $600,000 in budget revenue in this case?

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, I am more than happy to make available to all members of the Assembly the submission that was put forward by the Racing Club to the ACT Government with regard to the increase in the Racecourse Development Fund, where they outlined the areas in which they believed they could increase jobs. Obviously, that would happen over time. I have to say, Mr Speaker, that it is a tiny bit tough to expect the Racing Club over, I think, a couple of months to actually go from start to finish on these things. But I am very happy to make their submission - - -

Mr Quinlan: Did they say 70?

MS CARNELL: I think they actually said more than that. But, again, I am very happy to make available the submission that they put forward. I have to say that I was surprised at the number of jobs that the racing industry provides in the ACT now and the potential for expansion, they believe, for the racing industry in the future. I think it is really important, too, to realise, with regard to the Racecourse Development Fund, that the level of return to the racing industry from our TAB in percentage terms is one of the lowest in Australia. That was the basis on which the Racing Club put forward that submission.

It is also interesting to note, as I think I heard the other night on television, that the racing industry makes the point that, on the sale of the Victorian TAB and the potential sale of the New South Wales TAB, the actual return to the racing clubs increased in Victoria and is due to increase in New South Wales. Is it not interesting that a sale would actually improve the amount of money going to the racing clubs?

MR WOOD: I have a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. Yes, I know that it is a big and important industry, and thank you for the documentation. I will accept that. But the main thing I want to ask is: How do you know; or how, in the future, will you know, if it is going to take a little time? What follow-up do bureaucrats have to check that what is promised in that documentation is delivered?

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