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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 5 Hansard (3 May) . . Page.. 1426 ..

Mr Humphries: This bill is not a bill for ordinary annual appropriations; it is only for certain select appropriations.

MR SPEAKER: It says "appropriation bills", Minister.

Mr Humphries: For the ordinary annual requirements of the executive, the budget bills. This is an appropriation bill for a separate select purpose.

MR BERRY: You are stretching it. Are you telling us that the Rally of Canberra is not going to be an annual event?

Mr Humphries: No, but it is not a general appropriation.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, I know that Mr Humphries stings every time there is mention of the lost dragway and of the loss of revenue to the ACT, but it has to be mentioned. It is one of the public affairs-

MR SPEAKER: You will have the opportunity in the debate on the appropriation bill, if you wish.

MR BERRY: This bill is one of those varieties; it is an appropriation bill.

MR SPEAKER: I am told that it is not.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, I think it is fair enough to talk about the government's commitment to motor sport in the wider context, rather than limiting it to this appropriation of $100,000 and avoiding the broader debate about the government's commitment to local motor sport. Of course, we have seen that, sadly, that has been deficient. As I was getting to, Mr Speaker, without a government contribution the drag-racing venue out near the airport brought tens of millions of dollars to the ACT. The last measure I saw was around $2 million per year in tourism money without government support or only very minor government support, nothing like the support that goes to the high-flying areas. I just draw it to the attention of members that in considering support for this bill they should also consider the government's performance in the past.

Mr Speaker, it is pretty hard not to think about Bruce Stadium when one looks at each page of this document. I looked at a class 1 output on page 23 and saw multicultural affairs as a heading under the quantity. Recently, we were subjected to an extraordinary community debate about multicultural affairs in the ACT. We had the sacking of the director of the multicultural festival by CTEC. It has been claimed that he has not been sacked and is now being paid in accordance with his contract and that sort of stuff, but from any vantage point it is pretty clear that Mr Mico is not in the job that he once had. In my opinion, he is being shown the door because of his criticism of this government over its management of multicultural affairs matters in the ACT.

With each page we have our attention drawn to more areas of incompetence by this government and more reminders that its time is up. Oh, Bruce Stadium is mentioned again on page 53 with reference to the central financing unit. It refers to the BOPL debt which was incurred as part of the stadium redevelopment.

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