Page 3944 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 25 November 2014
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sitting on the ministerial bench and being inside cabinet, I guess. But the question is: at the end of the day, will we get something better with regard to the management of EPIC? I do not think there is anything in what the minister has said that indicates that will be so.
Let us look at what has happened since May 2009. We had a bill some years later where the size of the board was dropped, with a minimum of three and maximum of five members. The board, to my understanding, is currently operating with three members, one of whom is the CEO. That is the government’s attitude to an asset of the territory—it will just run it down in this way. I honour the two members still on the board—Mr Barclay and Ms Hendry—for the work they have done, but if you have been nobbled by the government, then, of course, EPIC is not to go ahead. That was clearly the way this Treasurer saw things playing out, and so the Treasurer has had his way. It is a shame, because he said on 5 May 2009:
We do have a vision for the future of EPIC, which includes the development of low-cost accommodation.
You could ask the question: is that low-cost accommodation open some five years later? Has the vision been realised? The answer is, no, it has not, because this is a government that has put so much bureaucracy and so much red tape in the way of any organisation getting ahead, including a government-owned corporation. What we see is EPIC languishing because of the disinterest this government has in allowing it to act as a corporation—to use the flexibility that that approach gives—and to get on with running a great business.
EPIC is a great thing for the ACT. It grew out of the showground that was established in the 60s. We know the Canberra show has its home there; the harness racing has its home there. It is a venue for some larger conferences or exhibitions that require a particular sort of exhibition space. We know the folk festival is there. These are all events that work very well. We know, for instance, the folk festival is at capacity because the showground is at capacity. The problem is that we have not had a government that are interested. They are interested in one agenda—that is, control through the bureaucracy, through TVE, of the showground, and it appears they will achieve that today.
Let us go back to what people said. The minister said when he introduced his bill in 2009:
It will be a golden era for Exhibition Park on the successful passage of this legislation. I thank members.
A “golden era”. Does that mean for five years we have not had the golden era of EPIC? If we have not, whose fault is that? The fault clearly lies with the minister and the government for not having the vision or the courage to allow the board to get on with their job. That is the shame of this approach.
We are yet to hear from Mr Rattenbury, but I am assuming he is backing this bill. But what did he say in 2009? What was the Greens’ position back in 2009? Mr Rattenbury said:
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