Page 1378 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 28 March 2012
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I am happy to rise this morning to speak to this motion in relation to Canberra’s centenary and the associated celebration events and opportunities that it affords. As we know, 2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the official naming of Canberra by Lady Denman on 12 March 2013. All Canberrans, in fact all Australians, should be very proud of this significant milestone in our history. Planning is underway for a year-long program of celebrations that will mark this anniversary and showcase Canberra to a national and international audience.
The centenary is an opportunity to engage all Australians by encouraging people to interact with centenary initiatives and take the opportunity to participate in centenary activities by visiting Canberra. After all, this is the nation’s capital. We all think of this place as our home—the place we work, the place we participate in community activities and bring up our families. However, Canberra belongs to the whole nation and we are just fortunate to live here.
Australian Capital Tourism is working closely with the centenary team to develop a marketing campaign that will raise awareness of the centenary activities and, importantly, drive increased visitation to the capital during this important year. The ACT government delivered $1.8 million in the 2011-12 budget towards a national fund for marketing the centenary.
As we know, any increased visitation provides a valuable economic return to the ACT economy via increased consumer spending on ACT goods and services. On our 99th birthday, at an event attended by the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister, we got a sneak preview of what awaits us. The full calendar of centenary events will provide multiple reasons for Australians to visit their capital during the centenary year. The calendar of events is diverse and contains performances, exhibitions and events that will appeal to a range of audiences and special interests.
I am pleased to say that the centenary of Canberra program is extensive and includes a wide variety of events and exhibitions throughout the year covering a spectrum of sports, science, arts, community, architecture and the environment. The program will also umbrella a wide range of partner events and events that regularly occur in Canberra. Canberra’s traditional high visitation events will continue to provide important reasons for people to visit Canberra during the centenary. These include the actual birthday celebration in March, Enlighten, the National Folk Festival, Floriade, Floriade NightFest, the Anzac Day national ceremony and the Australia Day celebrations, to name but a few.
It will be a big year for sports fans with the ISPS Handa Australian women’s golf championship and the Brumbies, Raiders and the GWS Giants hosting a number of exciting clashes in Canberra. 2013 will also see the British Lions Rugby team play the Brumbies at the Canberra Stadium. The Lions only travel to Australia every 12 years, and this happy coincidence will see many international visitors travel to Canberra for the game and stay on to experience the national capital.
The centenary of Canberra launched a preview brochure to the local media on 7 March 2012 and, as I said, to key stakeholders on 12 March. The brochure, which
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