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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 8 Hansard (8 August) . . Page.. 2584 ..

Canberra Means Business campaign

MR SMYTH: Mr Quinlan asked yesterday about the cost of the ACT Business Gateway ads and if there were any other projects in the pipeline. The television campaign that has been running is a repeat of an earlier advertising campaign developed for the Canberra Business Advisory Service. This business information and mentoring service is funded by the ACT government and is part of a suite of programs provided through Business ACT.

The television promotion of the Canberra Business Advisory Service cost $42,000 for both runs of the campaign. This has been at no cost to the taxpayer, as it has been entirely funded by sponsorship of the advisory service by Asia Online. The effect of the television campaign has been marked. In the three-week period the campaign has been running, total client contacts with the Business Advisory Service have increased by 59 per cent to 116 clients.

For the information of members, a new television campaign promoting the enhanced ACT Business Gateway web site, including online transactions and improved search functionality, is due to start this Sunday, 12 August. It will run for three weeks and will cost $29,000 in total.

The ACT Business Gateway web site has had over 536,000 hits since its launch in July 1999. To bolster that-and I am sure all here in the Assembly support small business-the Canberra Means Business brochure was developed as an additional means of informing the community of all government programs and opportunities that are available to the business sector. The total cost of developing, printing and mailing the brochure was $22,569.

We are very proud of the results. It is imperative that small businesses in Canberra know and make use of all the services that the government offers, and we need to be out there telling them that they are there.

Personal explanations

MR QUINLAN: In answering my question today-

Mr Humphries: Is this a point of order, Mr Speaker?

MR QUINLAN: No, this is a personal explanation. I recall the Treasurer accusing me of describing the budget as "fantasy" or "fanciful".

Mr Humphries: Fantasy.

MR QUINLAN: Fantasy. Would you like to withdraw that now, since I have never said it?

Mr Humphries: Mr Speaker. I withdraw that. The budget is not fantasy, I can be sure of that.

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