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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Tuesday, 4 May 2004) . . Page.. 1713 ..

third appropriation bill rather than taking it through the Treasurer’s Advance, and therefore the Treasurer’s Advance was never used.

Mr Speaker, the minister explained this over and over again within the committee, to the point where I was ready to poke out my eyes and my eardrums with the sharpened pencils that were in front of me. But the rest of the committee members and the other members of the Assembly who chose to sit in on that part of the hearing refused to understand what is quite a simple notion. So it was quite ridiculous to request the Minister for Education, Youth and Family Services to give an explanation in regard to that. The Hansard record of the committee proceedings quite clearly shows that she explained this point several times.

There is also an issue in relation to the purchase of the Phillip Oval lease. I do not really want to go into this in great detail, other than to say that statements were made in the committee that everybody knew that such and such had an interest. Quite frankly, I consider myself to be part of “everybody” and I had no knowledge about it. Although I do not pay much attention to what goes on within a planning area, I live fairly close to Phillip Oval and I know that it is an invaluable community resource.

I accepted on face value the reasoning that the Minister for Planning gave. I do not believe there was any intention on the part of the Minister for Planning to confuse the issue. He was asked a question about why the government was purchasing the lease instead of allowing a third party to purchase it. The minister gave an answer that satisfied me.

There is a suggestion that a third party would be prepared to maintain Phillip Oval as a sporting and recreational facility. It is my understanding, and I have stated this in the report, that the only way to ensure that Phillip Oval is maintained as a sporting and recreational facility for all of the community is for the government to purchase it. The reason for that is the nature of the lease.

It is quite ridiculous to ask the minister to get up and apologise to the Assembly for not having provided all the information. Such a notion assumes that he has done something wrong. Rather than asking him to explain the situation, he has, in my opinion, been found guilty without a trial.

Finally I would like to thank sincerely Ms Stephanie Mikac, the secretary of this committee. She has an extremely busy workload, as do all in the committee secretariat. [Extension of time granted.] I apologise to the Assembly for seeking an extension of time because I did say that I would try to keep my remarks short. Ms Mikac is also secretary to the public accounts committee, and I am sure that Mr Smyth and Ms Tucker would agree with me that that committee has a fairly hefty workload. I know that all our committees have got fairly hefty workloads and I appreciate the long hours Ms Mikac put in on this report, especially in getting it finalised last night.

I am glad that the committee has recommended that the bill be passed. Members of the committee put a bit of a fly in the ointment by saying that we should not approve the $800,000 for the purchase of the lease over Phillip Oval. I have already said that it is a precious asset for the community and the only way to maintain it is for the government to take over the lease.

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