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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 12 Hansard (7 December) . . Page.. 3902 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

state. So the question of Australian nationhood was a bit dubious and doubtful 100 years ago today.

In the time since then the concept of Australia as a united nation, as a community of people bound together by common traditions, language and other things, has become a much more established concept. The idea of having a celebration not just of the federal parliament and its members in the Exhibition Building in Melbourne on 9 May, but rather of all the members of all the Australian parliaments, representing the leadership of the entire Australian nation, was that we should symbolise that unity as a nation; that we are together embracing today, unambiguously and without qualification, the concept of Australian nationhood.

The expression there is also that Australian nationhood is not just about the forming of a series of entities or bodies which is the Commonwealth, but rather the formation of a people together. So a gathering of the representatives of all the people in all the states and all the territories, and representatives of Australians at the municipal level, has been engineered. This is a major national exercise. This is the highlight of the centenary of federation celebrations. It is the centrepiece of that celebration.

As far as I am aware, Mr Speaker, the impression I obtained from the briefing that I received from the Centenary of Federation Committee was that every Australian parliament was likely to take up the offer that was being made. I would have the greatest regret, in leading a delegation down to Melbourne in May, to discover that every other Australian parliament was generously if not unanimously represented on that occasion.

Mr Wood: You have not been attending to the debate.

MR SPEAKER: Labor or Liberal, minister?

MR HUMPHRIES: I beg your pardon, Mr Speaker?

MR SPEAKER: Irrespective of party?

MR HUMPHRIES: Yes, irrespective of party, Mr Speaker. It is a question of accepting and taking up this invitation in the spirit in which it has been offered. As I understand the process from here, in late March of next year formal invitations from the Prime Minister, the presiding officers of the Commonwealth parliament, and the Premier of Victoria will be issued individually to each member of every parliament in Australia who is expected to be holding office on 9 May 2001. The invitations will entitle members to be accompanied by their spouse or partner. At around the time of issue of the invitations, extensive briefings on all the details of the involvement will be provided. Importantly, the organisers have negotiated a very extensive accommodation guide which offers attendees a discount on accommodation in order that all the members should be able to attend this occasion. They should all be able to attend. It is meant to be a huge national celebration.

Mr Speaker, there is a very important reason why the ACT Legislative Assembly should be represented, if possible unanimously, at that celebration. The ACT parliament, and indeed the ACT itself, is the child of federation. We would not be here, sitting in this place, originally a cow paddock, if it were not for the decision of Australians 100 years

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