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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 12 Hansard (5 December) . . Page.. 3631 ..
MR BERRY: My question to the Chief Minister and Treasurer is from a keen supporter of well - managed motor sport events, not that we have seen many in the ACT in recent times. I refer to the recent admission by the disgraced former Chief Minister and Treasurer now enjoying a generous work for the dole or job search arrangement -
MR SPEAKER: Get on with your question.
MR BERRY: Maybe it is not work for the dole but doddle for the dole. The admission was that the budget for the V8 supercar race will blow out by up to $1.5 million. Furthermore, she declared that the Assembly would have to agree to another appropriation or there would be no race next year. I draw the minister's attention to a comment of the then Chief Minister on 31 August 1999, when she asked the Assembly to endorse the second appropriation that paid for all this. She said in part:
I do not think any government can be more open than that. The information that was given, contrary to comments made by Mr Quinlan, did include the basis for the level of confidence in the figures involved. Not only did we give the operating statement for next year, but we gave projections right through to year five. Remember that it is a five - year contract for the race. For the whole term of the race projections were provided, both in revenue terms and in expenses terms. Also given were a financial position document, cash flow documents and a breakdown of the projected crowd figures that were the basis of the business case/operating statement.
That information came to this Assembly and went to cabinet. I ask the Chief Minister whether he will now concede that the Assembly was misled by the government's original proposal. If he will not concede that, will he concede that it was just another result of the gross mismanagement we have come to expect from this government and this minister in particular?
MR SPEAKER: You might like to answer, but you must not express an opinion.
MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, I think Mr Berry just did. He expressed one or two opinions. With regard to the comment about up to $1.5 million of extra expenditure, I indicated in my ministerial statement last week that more money would be required for next year's event. I also went through every single figure for this year's GMC 400. There are a number of reasons for the extra money. The major reason is that the National Capital Authority requires a shorter set - up and pull - apart time for the GMC next year. There was community concern that the time it took to set up the GMC and pull it apart was bit longer than people should have had to put up with. We have agreed with the National Capital Authority on a shorter time on both ends.
The event this year showed that we could do a number of things much better. I am interested that Mr Berry should suggest that we should not get better every year and attempt to address suggestions that things need to be done better. At this year's event it was quite hard for little people to see the track. Many people who took their children along found that they got stiff necks, and possibly bad backs - that would be very negative for Mr Berry, with his interest in occupational health and safety and such things - because they had to lift children on to their shoulders. We propose that for next
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