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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 1 Hansard (15 February) . . Page.. 33 ..

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, let me say this to the Opposition: I hear the criticisms that they are making about this arrangement and I understand their concerns about what is happening with respect to ACTEW. This is the third significant proposal that the Government has put on the table with respect to the future of ACTEW in the last 12 months, or a bit over that. We are trying to address what everybody knows is a significant problem facing ACTEW in the rapidly changing and highly competitive energy market in Australia. We appear to have got wrong the first two answers we put forward, according to the Opposition. We are now making a third attempt at getting the answer right.

Instead of constantly saying to the Government, "No, this is the wrong answer; no, this is the wrong answer; oh, no, this is the wrong answer", it would help us if you gave us a hint about what is the right answer. You say we have to address the exposure of ACTEW, the risk of ACTEW. How do we do that? Give us a clue as to how we can do this. We have put a proposal on the table, Mr Quinlan. If you want to oppose it and say you do not like it, that is fine; but I think now, after three attempts, the time has come for you to say not just what you do not like, but also what you do like.

MR KAINE: My question is to the Minister for Education. This will be a bit of a surprise as I do not ask him a question very often, but I am asking him this question in his capacity as Minister for sport and recreation. I am not certain that he will be allowed to answer it. The Chief Minister or the Treasurer, or even Mr Moore, might find that they can answer it better, but we will wait and see. Mr Stefaniak, in the Canberra Times of last Thursday, 10 February, one of the Chief Minister's spin doctors was quoted as saying that $1.7m worth of taxpayers' funds originally approved for Rugby League Park in Braddon was now being diverted to a Canberra Institute of Technology site at Bruce for the construction of a new facility for the Canberra Raiders football team. I found that a little inexplicable because if you go to your own budget last year, Minister, and I mean to page 224 of Budget Paper No. 3, it quite specifically states there that this $1.7m was for the sport and recreation element of the budget and it was for headquarters for the Canberra and District Rugby League Football Club. Minister, how is it that capital works funds approved by this Assembly only a year ago for the CDRL, which among other things fosters junior rugby league in the ACT, now appears to be going to a wealthy private company, 50 per cent of which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd?

MR STEFANIAK: I thank the member for the question. Mr Kaine mentioned the CDRL who, in fact, are the holders of the lease over Northbourne Oval where initially the Government had hoped the money would be spent. Not having put the particular budget paper together myself, Mr Kaine, I cannot comment more than that except to say that it was certainly intended for Northbourne Oval.

Mr Kaine: Would you like a copy of the page out of the budget so that you can refresh your memory?

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