Page 765 - Week 02 - Thursday, 25 February 2010
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MR SPEAKER: Ms Le Couteur, a supplementary question?
MS LE COUTEUR: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Mr Stanhope, you mentioned joint conversations with the commonwealth. Is the commonwealth actually coughing up any money for this event?
MR STANHOPE: It is a very sore point, Ms Le Couteur. We are at a point now in our discussions with the commonwealth where we have now signed an MOU with the commonwealth in relation to administrative arrangements. There are regular meetings now between officers of the Chief Minister’s Department, the centenary unit and the Attorney-General’s Department around joint approaches, joint management and a shared vision of a celebration of the centenary. Those discussions are very much focused, from our point of view, around our willingness as a government to look to the domestic celebratory activities that are very much to be featured in the Canberra Festival in two weeks time but expanded massively, we hope, throughout the whole of 2013, so that we have a genuine year-long celebration.
There have been very concrete and productive discussions. There are good, firm relationships and administrative arrangements in place. Indeed, I met with the Prime Minister two to three weeks ago. One of the formal agenda items for my most recent meeting with the Prime Minister was, again, the nature and level of commonwealth support administratively and monetarily in celebrating the centenary. I was left, through the conversation, with the certain knowledge that the commonwealth is genuinely and fully committed to a celebration of our centenary and that the commonwealth will be playing a significant role in that celebration.
MR SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Mr Hargreaves?
MR HARGREAVES: This is my last supplementary before the end of question time, Mr Speaker. Can the Chief Minister tell us whether we enjoy bipartisan support with the opposition on the provision of a balloon spectacular in that festival?
MR SPEAKER: Chief Minister, Mr Hargreaves cannot ask a supplementary on his own question.
Mr Stanhope: I ask that all further questions be placed on the notice paper.
Supplementary answers to questions without notice
Alexander Maconochie Centre—Official Visitor
Water—Murrumbidgee to Googong pipeline
MR CORBELL: Further to questions asked in question time today relating to the Official Visitor, Mr Boland was appointed on 15 February this year. The position was vacant from 1 October last year until 14 February this year.
As to the level of reports, the Official Visitor is required to report to me as the minister quarterly. Regrettably, the previous Official Visitor did not submit quarterly reports. He only submitted one report to me and he only referred one complaint. However, there have been other complaints lodged by other advocates on behalf of
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