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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 6 Hansard (2 September) . . Page.. 1824 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

predicted that that would have been a problem and dealt with it immediately instead of having the outrage that came from people in the industry when they were told what had been decided.

The way that free tickets are getting out to families in the ACT is obviously not working either. It is not a smooth process and seems to have lots of problems. I heard the Chief Minister and others say that it will be very flexible at the gate as to what is a family. We are hoping that it is extremely flexible and that elderly relatives will be included in a family grouping and that children, no matter how many, will also be included. The Government has given an assurance that that will be the case. That is at least something.

I know quite a number of families who visit Floriade more than once. It becomes a little bit of a routine at that time of year. I used to do it with my children. We would often take a walk through the flowers in the evening on several occasions. We did not go just during the day. In fact, we avoided the crowds during the day and went in the late afternoon when it was quieter. We did that regularly. The fee is going to have an impact on local families and local people who have become used to enjoying this festival of flowers in a way that is quite different from just one visit or going because of the particular events that are being organised. For a lot of people the experience is altogether different from that which is envisaged by the Government, it appears. So those people will not be able to enjoy that experience anymore.

I understand that there were concerns that Floriade was losing its popularity and it needed to be bigger. We always have this huge imperative to grow and grow and to get bigger and bigger. There have been a few suggestions in the newspaper. I do not know whether it is possible to do what is suggested. If the cost is so great because the bulbs have to be removed every year, maybe Floriade can be held at another location so that the expense is not so great. That seems a fairly sensible suggestion. Maybe government has a reason that that is not okay. I will be interested to hear the reason if that is the case.

I agree with the concerns that Labor has expressed tonight about the alienation that has been caused in the community. Floriade is something that people thought they could enjoy for nothing. There are not many things that you can - let us face it. Mrs Carnell was comparing Floriade to the theatre and to other entertainment. A lot of people cannot afford the theatre in Canberra. I am not talking about live theatre. I am talking about the cinema. It is quite expensive for a family on a low income to go to the pictures. It can cost $30 or $40 if everyone in a reasonably big family goes. That is prohibitive; it is impossible. A lot of families do not have that kind of disposable income. Floriade was an opportunity to do something special in Canberra together that was not going to cost anything. I think it is a great shame that it has been changed. I would like to see the Government explore other ways of reducing the cost. As I said, perhaps we can find a different location rather than impose a fee.

Labor's motion is a compromise. It acknowledges that government has invested money. I think it is a pretty poor argument that if we do not have an entry fee the money will have to come out of education. If government has made bad policy on the run and has not thought through this initiative, I do not think it is fair for us to be told that the education community will have to wear it because the money has to come from somewhere.

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