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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 14 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 5136 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

who initially said that we did not need two concerts. They did not want the event to be a concert like the gala event that the Commonwealth is running; they wanted to run a picnic. On Australia Day what is more Australian than a picnic in the park with a group of people who want to celebrate it with you? So that excuse flies out the window when you examine the refuting of the government's claim by the head of Australia Day in the National Capital Inc.

I think it is important that we celebrate Australia Day appropriate to the ACT and appropriate to the event. I do not believe that will happen. Mr Wood was asked on 2CN, "What will the ACT government do for Australia Day?"After a series of ums and ahs, he said, "We will have a swearing-in ceremony."The total commitment of the ACT government to Australia Day is a swearing-in ceremony.

This is an important ceremony, a fabulous ceremony. It is held below Regatta Point amongst the trees. The wattle are flowering, people are excited, the band is playing and a big breakfast is put on. It is a really fabulous event. It is a shame that that is all the government will be sponsoring this year.

We should all welcome paragraph (2) of the motion: "the transfer of the announcement of the Australian of the Year awards to Canberra". I wish they were here every year. I think they should be held here every year. I urge the NCA and the federal government to fight to have them here every year as we are the nation's capital-we belong to the nation, we are part of the nation, we are the national symbol, we are the national capital.

On the other hand, this is a place where people live. National celebration and local celebration go hand in glove. These celebrations have worked every other year and can continue to work. This government should be committed to building up the community, developing social capital and giving opportunities to people to come together and be a community. But, based on example, we have a government that does not believe or understand the importance of that.

The inexplicable decision by the ACT government not to fund Australia Day in the national capital may well have something to do with its membership because apparently it is unrepresentative. These are people who have the temerity to come together to organise something on behalf of their community for no remuneration but simply for the sheer joy of getting together to celebrate an event that they think is important.

I note that there are some notable luminaries on the list of members on the committee, including Mr Bill Stefaniak MLA who has given of his help and time over the years. Maybe that is the problem-maybe there are too many Liberals on the committee. There are also some notable Labor supporters on this committee. So, again, I am at a loss.

Then we had the excuse trotted out that what would happen locally was a replication of what was happening with the federal government. What was not taken into account was the fact that the chair of the National Capital Authority is a member of Australia Day in the National Capital Committee and that, at the time of the rejection, the NCA had not even finalised its program. How the minister can say that the government did not want to duplicate something that at that stage did not exist and was not finalised is beyond the ken of ordinary people.

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