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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 13 Hansard (26 November) . . Page.. 4780 ..

MRS DUNNE (continuing):

Prevention may be better than cure, and prevention may be preferable to symptomatic treatment, but it is often cold comfort if you have already got the symptoms of the cold. The irony is that those who lose as a result of what is sometimes seen as a compassionate approach to enforcement of the rules of society are not only the victims of crimes but also the perpetrators. We are doing alienated youth no favours by neglecting the need to enforce the law and by letting them get away with antisocial behaviour because we feel guilty that somehow it is our fault as a society and therefore reinforce this behaviour in the name of compassion. There are risks at both extremes. Though prevention is certainly better than cure, we need both. We cannot assume that advocates of prevention have a monopoly on compassion in this place.

Australia Day in the National Capital Inc

MR SMYTH (Leader of the Opposition) (11.15): Mr Speaker, today and yesterday there was much discussion about the government's lack of funding for the Australia Day celebrations in the national capital. The crux of the matter seems to be that there were going to be two concerts. That is Mr Wood's defence-that the National Capital Authority is organising a concert; therefore, we do not need a second one.

I asked Australia Day in the National Capital to explain their side of the story and they sent me this letter, which I think is quite instructive. It is addressed to me and is dated today. It says:

Dear Brendan

Further to our discussion this morning the following is a brief historical account of the application from Australia Day in the National Capital to the ACT Festival Fund.

Around May this year the National Australia Day Council of which the President of Australia Day in the National Capital, Mrs Marjorie Turbayne, is a member decided that in collaboration with the National Capital Authority and other sponsors, the Australian of the Year Awards would be announced in Canberra at a major event in Federation Mall on the eve of Australia Day. Following these awards it was proposed to stage a major concert called 'Celebrate'. Both these events have a national objective in promoting Australia Day. The content of these events would also be nationally oriented. It was not intended that they would in any way substitute or conflict with the celebrations of Australia Day in Canberra, on Australia Day.

With the knowledge of this event Colin Slater, the Executive Director of Australia Day in the National Capital, had a meeting with the ACT Festival Fund to discuss the implications of the major Australia Day eve events in terms of our application for funding. At this meeting Colin Slater pointed out that it would not be appropriate to have another Australia Day concert, on Australia Day, given the scale of the concert proposed for Australia Day eve. He then outlined a proposal to have an afternoon event in Commonwealth Park featuring Sirocco and local community groups. Sirocco is an internationally acclaimed group which has had close ties with Canberra for over 15 years. One of its members is a Canberra resident. The

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