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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 8 Hansard (24 August) . . Page.. 2327 ..
Mr Speaker, the information that I have already given to members with regard to the V8s is the information that was given to Cabinet.
Mr Berry: You have not given it to me.
MS CARNELL: I gave it to Mr Quinlan because he is supposedly the person who is handling it.
Mr Berry: I am the tourism and events person.
MS CARNELL: I thought he was the one who was handling it, so I gave him the information. I gave it to Mr Kaine, Mr Osborne and the other people who needed the information. I understand that Mr Service has briefed Mr Stanhope and Mr Quinlan on a number of occasions, as he has others, with regard to this event. The reality here is that there is very little extra information. The documents I have provided - such things as the operating statement, a statement of the financial position, the cash flow details and the draw-down schedule, plus details of the key issues and the economic benefits statement for the whole procedure - are the basis upon which Cabinet made its decision.
As to the information that exists at the moment, we can have an argument about whether a spectator number of 50,000 in the first year is too many, too few or whatever. We know that Adelaide got 140,000. We are looking at 50,000. That looks pretty conservative to me. If it rains, it will be less; if the weather is great, it will be more. You go with the figures as the best indications you have. That is what we have here, plus quite in-depth information about what is being put on the table with regard to the national and international media. We can brief members on all of this information without the additional expense of having an estimates committee. Again, I do not know that a government can be more open than to give members the documents on which Cabinet made its decision.
With regard to the hospice, I think Mr Berry outlined his case very well. He wants to play politics. Ho, hum! What is new? The reality of the hospice situation, of course, is that Mr Berry signed the contract, which has already expired.
Mr Stanhope: He did not exchange the land.
MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, he signed a contract which was short term. Why was it a short-term contract? Why did the Labor Government at the time only sign a short-term contract? As we know, John Howard was not the first Prime Minister to announce a significant national entity for Acton; it was Paul Keating.
Mr Stanhope: But he was happy to take the site with the hospice on it.
MS CARNELL: That is simply incorrect.
Mr Stanhope: I will table the papers tomorrow. I look forward to tabling the papers.
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