Page 626 - Week 02 - Thursday, 6 March 2008
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funded from various sources. It was not the amount of cash it was seeking from the ACT government. Minister, why have you misrepresented the previous operator? I have a document here which I am happy to table which shows what I have just read out. I seek leave to table that document.
Leave granted.
MR BARR: The short answer to Mr Stefaniak’s question is that at no point did I make that imputation. I simply stated that the fee for service for Balloon Aloft would be $10,000 from an overall budget of $70,000, and that the fee for service and the event management fee for CBF Inc. was $90,000 from a budget of $493,000. They are the simple points that I made yesterday. I reiterate, for the benefit of Mr Stefaniak, who I am sure has been put up to this question—
Mr Corbell: Yes, by Mr Smyth.
MR BARR: Yes, that is right—that we will have an outstanding balloon event in the ACT and it will represent value for money for taxpayers. But what is at the heart of this issue is that CBF submitted a budget bid to the territory for something in the order of $1.25 million over five years. They were unsuccessful in that bid, and they sought that funding from a range of sources. They were successful in some parts, to the tune of $70,000, and they have then come back to us and said they could not run the event that we wanted for $70,000. We have found someone else who can, and we are going with that local company. It is as simple as that.
MR SPEAKER: Is there a supplementary question?
MR STEFANIAK: Thanks, Mr Speaker. Minister, will you now table the business plan and budget for this event, including the budget submitted by Balloon Aloft?
MR BARR: No, Mr Speaker.
Schools—closures
MRS DUNNE: My question is to the Chief Minister. On 12 and 13 February this year, the opposition asked you, Chief Minister, about statements made by your government prior to the 2004 election that there would be no school closures “in the next term of government”. You tried to play with the language to refute the statement, but you have not provided evidence that your government laid before the people of Canberra a plan not to close schools. The people of Canberra knew what your statements meant—they knew they meant that you would not close schools. The pain suffered by the people of Canberra as a result of school closures is now well evidenced.
MR SPEAKER: Come to the question, Mrs Burke.
MRS DUNNE: Chief Minister—
Mr Corbell: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: again, the opposition’s question contains an argument—”the pain suffered” and “the people of Canberra knew what
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