Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 5 Hansard (26 August) . . Page.. 1354 ..

Marketing and Promotion Campaign Contract

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, my question is to the Chief Minister. In evidence to the Assembly's Estimates Committee on 21 July the Chief Minister and an officer of her department revealed that the Government had paid for an aircraft owned by a Canberra business consortium to be painted with the "Feel the Power" slogan. The Chief Minister confirmed that certain provisos attached to the financial assistance. The requirement is that it flies in at least seven air shows in 1998. Mrs Carnell said, "If he does not fly in air shows then he has got to return the $15,000".

Ms Carnell: That is true.

MR BERRY: The Chief Minister also revealed that the aircraft in question was not, at the time, licensed to fly. Can the Chief Minister now tell the Assembly whether a licence to fly the aircraft has been acquired and whether the aircraft has flown, or flown at any air shows to date?

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, to my knowledge it has not flown in any air shows to date.

Mr Berry: Has it flown anywhere?

MS CARNELL: As I said in the Estimates Committee, the terms of the contract signed between the plane's owner and the ACT Government require a number of things to happen. First, the plane will take part in at least seven air shows this year; the owners will arrange additional exposure for the campaign at these and other events - in fact, I think the Opposition is doing that for us - the owners will pay the costs associated with additional advertising opportunities for the plane, that is, the development of advertisements in trade publications; and also that the paintwork, which features Canberra's official colours and the words "Feel the Power of Canberra", will be retained for the life of the paint or not less than three years. Mr Speaker, as we said at the time, if any of these conditions, not just flying in air shows, is not met, the $15,000 contributed towards the paintwork must be repaid to the ACT Government. It is quite simple.

MR BERRY: The Chief Minister did not answer the question about whether or not the aircraft had flown at all.

Ms Carnell: I did. It was the first thing I said.

MR SPEAKER: Yes. I think she did, Mr Berry.

MR BERRY: No. You said "flown at air shows", not "flown at all".

Mr Humphries: And she said no.

MR BERRY: It was not flown at all. Okay.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .