Page 5325 - Week 14 - Thursday, 19 November 2009
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scrutiny, and I imagine the Auditor-General will have a very significant interest in this proposal if it proceeds to the point that her role becomes relevant.
At this point in time, and I have to say at different points of the discussion around Calvary, I have asked the chief executive of ACT Health to keep the Auditor-General informed on how the process is moving along, and that has occurred. But her appropriate scrutiny role of any final decision as it proceeds is there for her to determine. I have nothing to hide from this, but the Auditor-General is not a decision maker about whether or not the government should own Calvary Public Hospital. She has some particular tasks and she can do this at any point. She is an independent office holder, and she can inquire into the Calvary proposal at any point in time.
The government has absolutely nothing to hide on this. We have put all the information out. Everybody knows about the discussions that occurred and the proposal as it stands. If the Auditor-General wants to scrutinise that, at whatever point that she determines that it is the right thing for her to do or that it is a role for her office, it is there for her to do it.
Trade mission
MS PORTER: Mr Speaker, my question, through you, is to the Chief Minister as Minister for Business and Economic Development. Minister, can you update the Assembly on the outcomes of the recent trade mission you led to the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom?
MR STANHOPE: Thank you, Ms Porter. I am more than happy to do that. As members are aware, I led a government trade mission to the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. These missions, designed and delivered in collaboration with Austrade, continue to be a crucial means of helping aspiring Canberra exporters make the connections and get the introductions that they need to capture a share of the global market for goods and services.
While we do not embark on these missions with the ambition of delivering instant results for participating companies, it is gratifying when, just weeks out from a mission, stories of success do start to come in. This trade mission, I am very pleased to say, was no exception.
One of the participating businesses was Poachers Pantry, this region’s premier manufacturer of gourmet smoked meats. As a consequence of their participation in the mission, Poachers Pantry has secured orders from the Grand Hyatt in Dubai and from the Jumeirah Group in the Middle East. While in the UAE, the company had an extremely successful meeting with Spinneys, which is the premier supermarket chain in the Emirates. Discussions are now progressing that will hopefully see Poachers Pantry products on the shelves of 25 supermarkets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the new year.
Another of the participating companies, Recruitment Systems, has secured five deals—three in new markets and two consolidating their market share in existing markets. They are also chasing another three agreements, all as a consequence of their participation in the trade mission. The general manager of Recruitment Systems,
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