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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 2 Hansard (28 February) . . Page.. 438 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

When I learned of the shift of CTEC from the CBD out to the airport it was the first hint that I had had that they were going to move there. I think I was quoted in the paper as saying that the only reason I could think of was that they were just going out there to fill a building. If CTEC had to move somewhere, there are lots of reasons for sending them to some of the outlying suburbs.

One of the other concerns I had, incidentally, was about how the staff feel about this. Were they consulted, or does CTEC believe it is okay to cause their staff to have to travel probably an extra 10 kilometres a day-I do not know what the difference is-just because they have a burning desire to occupy a building near the Canberra Airport? I am still curious about this move and I think the tabling of these papers will assist me in coming to a view about their intentions.

I would like also to know what role the government played in this, if any. We have to keep our ear to the ground in relation to that because there has been, over the last few years, a very close connection between the government and what CTEC does in almost every respect, and I would be surprised to find that there is not a certain closeness on this issue. I am keen to see these papers and to see what is in them, and I suspect they might trigger some more interest in the affairs of CTEC in the future.

MR SMYTH (Minister for Urban Services, Minister for Business, Tourism and the Arts and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (6.00): Ms Tucker and I spoke about the way that these papers should be released. To simply table documents that will contain commercial-in-confidence material is unfair, I think, to those who participate in the tender process. They deserve adequate protection of their business details. Ms Tucker, I have to say, kindly came up with this compromise position whereby they will be released to the Clerk so that all members can view them.

I also spoke to Mr Berry. I think it is fair to say that he agreed that it was not to disadvantage any business. I thank him for his guarantee that those commercial parts of the documents that might disadvantage any business will not be used in any untoward way.

This should be open to some transparency, but it has to be appropriate. What we need to do is make sure that people understand that details that they put forward are protected where that is appropriate, and that details put forward that should be out there should be seen by all. The government does not have a problem with the motion now, and I thank members for their guarantees that they will protect the commercial-in-confidence detail that will be in these documents.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

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