Page 4752 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 20 October 2010
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need to talk about the convention centre, which I have been speaking about for years, which we are still yet to get. It is something which we desperately need, something commensurate with our position as the nation’s capital.
The Australia forum concept is to be commended. It lifts from beyond being just a convention centre to a place where people come together, where people meet, where ideas are exchanged, where new ways are explored of addressing problems. We have a responsibility here in the nation’s capital to explore new ways of doing things, of addressing problems and fixing things. We used to call it business tourism. It should never be called business tourism. It is business events, but it is part of the essential infrastructure and it is important that we get on with it.
New paragraph (1A) is quite acceptable. Again, you cannot disagree with (b)—our assets: our clean environment, natural beauty and the four seasons. Let us use all four seasons. Why are we concentrating on just two? The two seasons that we have have a significant number of events in them. If the minister was out talking to the industry he would understand that their concerns are about summer and winter. They are the ones where the gaps are. January is a fantastic month in Canberra. The city is quite empty. You can travel anywhere so much faster because there is no traffic. There is potential there to capitalise on it. We must have a discussion about events and festivals in January, or in the summer in particular, and in winter. What do you do in winter? Everybody says it is too cold and they will not come here. Let us find something. There are winter festivals all over the world.
Mr Barr: Yes, we’ve got the Fireside Festival.
MR SMYTH: I give you the Fireside Festival. It is a great start, but we need to fill up the calendar. They are the two periods when you could run new events because you have got, in effect, capacity in the accommodation sector. The spring and the autumn are the two occasions when we have good visitation. We have good capacities, but if you do not have an accommodation strategy then you would not know that. A list of sites for potential hotels is not a strategy.
New paragraph (1B) just says that we are noting the current process and that the submissions will go up on the community website. That is a good thing. Paragraph (2) details three things. The Loxton report talks about accommodation and there are a number of references in the Loxton report to accommodation. On page 15 it talks about the availability of accommodation, taking account of the availability of accommodation and the consistent demand for accommodation. To do that, you need a strategy. You need the data and you need the facts. You have got to plug the holes and work on what needs to be worked on.
On page 21 at point 6 under “Business and Conventions” it says that it will also be essential to plan future accommodation. The Loxton review is saying, “Let’s do the planning.” It does not come up as a recommendation as such in the recommendations that start on page 45, but Loxton says that it will also be essential to plan future accommodation and other infrastructure requirements for tourism events. In that regard the recommendation—which matches mine—that we have a plan for accommodation is welcome. I have made the case for the attractions.
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