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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 5 Hansard (10 May) . . Page.. 1386 ..

MS CARNELL (continuing):

If, as Mr Quinlan seemed to intimate, somehow governments really have to be extraordinarily worried about getting involved in deals that include risk, I would have to say that there would not be very many deals that we would ever do. Mr Quinlan earlier said how much he supported biotechnology and how his speech last year supported biotechnology. I would agree, but, boy, if we want a highly speculative area it is biotechnology. If we want high levels of risk, it is companies such as start-up biotech companies spinning off from research, because we simply do not know whether they will ever get those products through toxicology, through human trials and onto a shelf. The best we can do is get behind them and give them an opportunity to do so. That is what we are doing with biotechnology. This deal does have a level of risk, but we believe it is a risk that was well worth taking.

For as long as I have been here, since 1992, members in this Assembly, on both sides of the house, have spoken often about multi-modal transport hubs at the airport, about regional hubs, about road transport hubs, all sorts of things, and I think we all agree, totally, that that is the way to go for Canberra. A very important part of that whole process was attracting a regional airline to Canberra. Members know, because the government announced it quite a long time ago, that we had put in a bid, shall we say, for Hazelton Airlines to come to Canberra. Unfortunately, at this stage, the board of Hazelton still has not decided whether they will relocate out of the Orange area, and, if they do relocate, whether they will come to Canberra or not.

Taking into account that there are not very many large regional airlines in Australia that are not owned, or predominantly owned, by Ansett or Qantas, Impulse really stood out as the one to get. In fact, Impulse is the only large regional airline that is not predominantly owned by Qantas or Ansett.

I think it really is a great deal for Canberra. What it shows more than anything else is how the image of Canberra is changing in the minds of corporate Australia. Impulse came to Canberra as a result of a number of Canberra business people lobbying them hard over quite a long period. They looked at Canberra as an ideal place to set up their regional operation and their expanded jet-based operation. I think this demonstrates the viability of Canberra as a regional hub.

As Mr Quinlan said, Canberra can provide a whole range of services to a large part of New South Wales. Other fares were announced on Sunday that didn't get quite the media coverage of the Canberra-Sydney fare, fares like $180 from Tamworth. I cannot remember exactly but there is a very low fare out of Port Macquarie into Canberra. There were fares from right around New South Wales. We will certainly be marketing into those towns that now will have an inexpensive and viable direct transport route into the national capital. We will be marketing our festivals. We will be marketing goods and services. We have a brand new capacity to improve business and to bring extra tourists into the ACT. I think that's pretty exciting.

As well as that, of course, the basis of this deal is that not only do we end up with the operational headquarters, at a cost of $3.5 million, but we also end up with the heavy maintenance and engineering centre. That is $6.5 million. Of course, with those sorts of entities come not just any jobs, but high-profile, high-quality, highly-paid jobs. I think that's pretty important. There is the reservation and call centre at $2.5 million, training that runs off that, and accommodation. Mr Deputy Speaker, there is a whole range of real

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