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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 10 Hansard (24 September) . . Page.. 3602 ..

Questions without notice

Tourism-funding

MR SMYTH: Mr Speaker, my question is for the minister for tourism. Minister, over the past four years ACT government appropriations for tourism have been $23 million in the 2000-01 year, $22.3 million in the 2001-02 year, $22.7 million in the 2002-03 year and $16.1 million in the current year. You are quoted in the Canberra Times of 14 September of this year as saying, in relation to government spending on tourism:

This year the ACT Government is spending about $14 million, this is the highest it has ever been.

Minister, do you stand by your statement that tourism spending is the highest it has ever been?

MR QUINLAN: No.

MR SPEAKER: Is that it?

MR QUINLAN: I will, in the main, take the question on notice so that I can make sure I let the Assembly know what we are spending on tourism promotion as opposed to events and what was spent on events. Previously we did see a lot of money spent on events-

Mr Stanhope: Which ones?

MR QUINLAN: Car races. Don't think for a moment that the money is all officially listed against the car race, with total cost of the car race to the territory, because there are a lot of implied costs in having an event like that.

I am happy to provide the Assembly with some split-up of costs and expenditure over the last few years as to what was spent on the promotion of tourism and what was spent on events. I can't rattle figures off the top of my head.

MR SMYTH: Money for tourist events can be spent under a tourism appropriation. Minister, is it your outstanding qualifications that lead you to believe that $14 million is higher than the $16 million appropriated this year, the $22 million last year, the $22.3 million the year before or the $23 million the year before that?

MR QUINLAN: Still smarting from yesterday, are we? I did actually cast some aspersions upon the qualifications of the shadow Treasurer yesterday, Mr Speaker, and I don't resile from them. In fact, I do refer members to yesterday's notice paper, which contains a question on notice by the shadow Treasurer asking what is the difference between current and non-current investments. If you don't know what the difference between current and non-current in accounting terms is, Mr Shadow Treasurer-

Mrs Burke: Do you know?

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