Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 7 Hansard (19 June) . . Page.. 2075 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

say that it is trash or that it reaches a new low in terms of the analysis of issues. The reality is that I have never heard a government say, "These are very useful recommendations that we will be taking on board and we thank the Estimates Committee for its work." There is a bit of a ritual here. Perhaps there is a bit of a ritual from our side as well in terms of being overly critical on occasions of particular initiatives. Instead of being churlish about that, a good government would take it in its stride and say, "We understand that this is a political process and we understand there will be argy-bargy about it, but we will listen to what you are saying and respond." A good government would do that. I think a Labor government would do that, but it would appear that this Humphries government is incapable of doing it.

Recommendation 6 of the Estimates Committee's report deals with the GMC400. It makes the point that the increasing level of costs that we are paying for this event is seen to be driven by factors which are outside our control. That has to be of concern because we have seen the track record of this government when it comes to having to pour more and more money into projects which are increasingly outside of its control and its ability to influence the outcome. With the GMC400 there was additional funding, totalling $1.5 million, for the 2001-02 financial year and for the remaining years that the territory has the contract for the race. That sort of increase in funding appears to be coming, as the Estimates Committee highlighted, from conditions imposed by the National Capital Authority in terms of signposting and other issues like that which, obviously, are not conditions that we can control.

It seems to me that, as the Estimates Committee points out, instead of ignoring that recommendation, instead of just blowing it away and saying that that is not important, the government should be responding to that potential for a blow-out in cost, the government should be saying that it recognises that there is a problem there with the relationship between the territory and the Commonwealth over control of that land, and we should be trying to enter into some sort of arrangement that makes sure that we do not continually have to fork out for conditions that are imposed by a third body. Perhaps there is something that can be done in the government's contract with the promoters of the GMC400. Perhaps that is something that should be investigated. Unfortunately, it appears that the government has not been prepared to listen to that recommendation.

The other recommendation of the Estimates Committee's report which I found quite extraordinary, not having been there for the particular public hearing, was the one to do with the Centenary of Federation monument. This is about a monument of the child of Federation, as we know Canberra to be, to recognise and celebrate Federation. The Chief Minister's Department was doing the work on developing what the monument should be. The committee pressed the matter-I think Ms Tucker was pressing the matter particularly-of what was the concept for the Centenary of Federation monument. The chief executive of the Chief Minister's Department indicated that the department had a concept for the monument. Ms Tucker asked where that came from. The chief executive replied, "Well, it came out of my brain, actually." That is a direct quote, Mr Speaker; it came out of the chief executive's brain.

It is tremendous to hear that, Mr Speaker, but it does not really address the issue of properly developing a monument for our city which recognises and celebrates the Centenary of Federation in a permanent way. As the committee rightly points out, this is an opportunity for many of the very talented artisans and crafts people of the ACT and

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .