Page 1384 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 28 March 2012
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what I then want to do is insert a new part (4). We have got in part (3) a local activity. Part (4) becomes:
“(4) calls on the Federal Government to:
(a) to at least match on a dollar-for-dollar basis the funds committed by the ACT Government to programs planned for the Centenary celebrations in 2013; and
(b) to restore funding to the National Capital Authority to enable this agency to contribute effectively to the Centenary celebrations in 2013.”.
The raison d’etre of the NCA, or part of it, used to be that they had a job to build in the heart of all Australians an appreciation of Canberra as the nation’s capital. They cannot do that on the budget that they have currently got. They cannot continue their statutory requirements and their maintenance work because they were gutted by an incoming Rudd government, at the behest of Senator Lundy. Settling old scores is not something people should do by damaging the city they live in, and that is what happened. I do not think anybody in this place likes what has been done to the NCA. So I think at least the government should restore funding for the NCA to enable this agency to contribute effectively to the centenary.
I note there might be a use of the words “restore” and “ensure adequate”. The problem is that, if you go to the “adequate” line, the federal government will simply say, “They have got adequate funding and they should do the job.” I think we all know they do not have adequate funding. One of the things that I believe are truly suffering because of federal government cuts is the effectiveness of the NCA to contribute to this. This is their job. It is up to the NCA. It is part of their charter to make sure that we build Canberra in the hearts of all Australians and I think it is important that that occurs.
Then there is a new part (5) which calls on the Speaker:
… to write to the Federal Government on behalf of the ACT Legislative Assembly advising of the terms of this motion.”.
So I hope that that is done and I hope these amendments are agreed to.
It is important that this happens. I note that the tenor of the motion is largely that there are benefits to be had here from tourism, and that is true. We need those benefits. All would remember the gutting of tourism by this government in 2006. It has been rebuilding slowly but I do not believe the funding is anywhere near, in real terms, what it was when this government took it to pieces in 2006. You only have to look at the numbers. The numbers in for the year 2010-11 said that there were 3,374,000 visitors to Canberra in that full financial year. In 2003-04 there were 4,013,000. So we are still 16 per cent lower than we were almost nine years ago.
Yes, we do need to do something more for tourism and we do need to make sure that it is adequately funded, that it is appropriately legislated for and that it has the backup of the federal government because the federal government have an obligation and a role to ensure that they are promoting the nation’s capital, whether they like that or
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