Page 5427 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 16 November 2010
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Mr Hargreaves: On the point of order, Mr Speaker—
MR SPEAKER: Yes.
Mr Hargreaves: I have not asked for an expression of opinion at all. Mr Barr is the minister responsible for tourism and I want an expert opinion on it.
Members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order, Mrs Dunne. I think that ministers are often asked questions in this place which might be considered an opinion. I think that to uphold the point of order we would have a very narrow interpretation of how this place is conducted. Mr Barr.
MR BARR: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank Mr Hargreaves for the supplementary. Indeed, it would be a welcome change if there was some unanimity in this place in relation to the marketing of this city. I do note that we did have a rare breakout of unanimity on the matter of the GWS partnership. That was, I think, an encouraging sign for the future possibilities of marketing our city.
I know that Mr Smyth and a number of other members attended the recent Canberra Business Council’s annual dinner where the concept of city-wide branding was discussed. I think a number of members would recognise the value in there being a consensus to the marketing of our city. One would hope that, particularly when the airport moves into its next phase of international operations, there can again be agreement on our international marketing efforts.
MR DOSZPOT: A supplementary, Mr Speaker?
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Doszpot.
MR DOSZPOT: Minister, what action are you taking to market ACT tourism in China and is the ACT considering targeting any other emerging tourism markets in Asia, such as India?
MR BARR: I recently led a delegation to Shanghai, in September, focusing mainly on education but we did take—
Mr Coe: On a direct flight?
MR BARR: We went via Sydney, actually, like you have to do. For inbound tourists coming the other way, the additional flight is, indeed, quite a barrier to—
Mr Coe: I have never seen a Chinese tourist in Canberra.
MR BARR: It is quite a barrier to attracting that extra level of visitation, outside of organised tour groups.
Mr Coe: You can’t fly to the Blue Mountains but they still go there.
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