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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 3 Hansard (25 March) . . Page.. 882 ..

MS CARNELL (continuing):

But I have to say that it is not just about saying, "Here's a cheque for $50,000", or whatever the amount was; it is about getting behind it. It is about the Minister getting out there and shaking the hands of the promoters and making sure that they feel welcome. It is not about photo opportunities. It is about the huge amount of work that happens underneath that to get these events to Canberra. The thing that we can do better, and I hope that we do do better, is show a personal interest in the organisers, in the people that put these sorts of events together, and make them realise that by coming to Canberra they can achieve something quite unique, that is, they can have a very special event in our event calendar, whereas they do not get the same sort of treatment in other places. It is a fact that the Minister is out there shaking hands, being there at a lot of the very minor functions that produce these events in Canberra, along with obviously some financial subsidies in some circumstances.

The same thing occurs with the visiting journalists program. Members opposite may be interested in having a look at some of the feedback that we get as a result of having the visiting journalists program. I have here just some of the feedback that we got from the visiting journalists that came in the last couple of intakes. What do we do in those circumstances? Those opposite spoke about stunts. Yes, we get out there. Yes, I and my Ministers and members get out there and meet every one of them. Yes, we get out there and make them feel important. I have to say that that is the reason that they write well about Canberra - not just about Ministers, but about all of the people involved in events and in tourism in the ACT.

We had journalists from Hong Kong and Malaysia for Canberra's National Multicultural Festival. We also had a unique coverage on SBS. Every single night during the festival there was footage of what had happened that day at Canberra's National Multicultural Festival. It went right around this country. There was absolutely stunning footage in ethnic newspapers right around Australia. There were some wonderful photos. It is not just about the people who turn up; it is the message that we are sending to people around Australia and around the world.

Mr Stefaniak mentioned the FAI Rally of Canberra. If you thought that the number of people watching the event in Canberra was the only measure of the success of the event, you would be underestimating probably tenfold the benefit of that event to the ACT. The fact that the event is shown right around the region really shows the benefit.

Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, I would like to finish by making the point that we as an Assembly have to get behind these events. We have to get behind the Olympics and these events and not allow them to become political, as those opposite have sought to do in this debate today. We have to shed the politics and get out there and market these events, be positive. If those opposite suggest that the photo opportunities are somehow inappropriate, they are wrong. We simply have to be seen to be aggressively marketing this city and that requires that everybody in this place do it. If there is a good reason for this debate today, and there is, it is about saying, "We've got a lot of events coming up. We've got the Olympics. We've got the centenary of Federation. We've got CHOGM. We've got a large number of opportunities". It is extraordinarily important for the future

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