Page 104 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 27 November 2012
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
and high quality projects.
So what are those projects and how will we measure their lasting contribution? The sixth is:
Create impetus for future development of the national capital.
Again, how does that occur? When will we know what the impetus has achieved? I guess most of us here know that parents of young kids when they travel somewhere hear from the back seat of the car, “Are we there yet? How will we know when we get there?” I think these are important questions. I have said in this place before that I am disappointed that the federal government has not matched the initial request of the ACT government. Remember that this goes back to the Howard government; when the original intergovernmental agreement was signed we said that both governments would work towards making sure that we got a great celebration for the nation’s centenary. And remember that it is probably more a job for the federal government than it is for the local government, because we are actually celebrating the national aspects of the capital, not just the home where we live; it really is the national aspects.
I do express a sense of disappointment that after the initial discussions with the Howard government some of the follow-through did not occur with the Rudd and the Gillard governments. We know that the government put forward a $40 million budget for the programs—$20 million from the ACT and hopefully $20 million to be matched by the federal government, which they have not matched. The federal government have put in only $6 million. So the people of the ACT, through their ACT budget, are carrying the lion’s share of the activity across the course of the year. I think that is disappointing and I think it shows some of the disdain that federal Labor show for the ACT. Of course there is still time for the federal government to correct that. Maybe there will be a small cheque in the Christmas stocking from the federal government. I will not hold my breath, given Wayne’s quest for his grail-like surplus. But you never know; maybe the feds will realise they have got a bigger responsibility in this than they currently do.
So the question really is: how will the vision be achieved, how will the goals be achieved and how will they be measured? For those that attended the Tourism Industry Council awards on Friday night—Minister Barr and I were certainly there; I did not see anybody else if they were there—the minister announced the establishment of a task force to look at how we continue to get the benefits after 2013. I suspect that is a little late, and perhaps it should have been integrated a little bit further, or much earlier, into what we are trying to achieve, so that we know what the measurables are. Perhaps when the Chief Minister speaks she might like to answer some of these questions.
It is important when we talk about, for instance, the high quality projects. I am sure we will be quoted chapter and verse the arboretum. I suspect the arboretum did not start as a centenary project. It certainly may well become the only centenary project of renown that the federal government will contribute to. If we could have an exposition from the Chief Minister on what the high quality projects are, that would be of interest.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video