Airport and Tourism

[Manderson, Roland]

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MEDIA RELEASE  MEDIA RELEASE 

ACT GREENS MLA KERRIE TUCKER

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THURSDAY 29 MARCH 2001

Airport move questioned

Greens MLA Kerrie Tucker, won partial support in the Assembly last night for
a motion concerning the decisions of Canberra Tourism and Events Corporation
(CTEC) to relocate to Brindabella Business Park at Canberra Airport.

 "I'm pleased that the Assembly has agreed that the decision to relocate
CTEC to the Canberra Airport could be a matter for the ACT Auditor General"
Ms Tucker said today.

"There is no public transport link to the airport and no guarantee that any
private service would meet operational needs of CTEC.  I think it sends a
negative signal to community groups who might hope to be involved in key
events, and raises questions about CTEC's reasons for the moves" Ms Tucker
said.

"I also think the overlapping links between the airport, family businesses
and the CTEC Board warrant a closer look.  CTEC is an ACT Government
Corporation, and the Assembly has to be confident that the relevant
legislation has been complied with, and that there is absolutely no question
of conflict of interest."

Ms Tucker however was not successful with a motion to censure Minister for
Tourism Brendan Smyth MLA, over the issue.

"The Assembly ordered the Minister to make papers concerning CTEC's decision
available for inspection by Members, but he refused to do so. That is a
serious contempt of Parliament, and warrants censure at the very least" Ms
Tucker added.   

" Unfortunately, neither Mr Rugendyke, Mr Osborne nor the Government could
appreciate the significance of such a pattern of behaviour, and the motion
was lost." 

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Roland Manderson    ACT Greens 
Kerrie  Tucker  MLA's   Office 
ACT    Legislative    Assembly 
GPO Box 1020 Canberra ACT 2601 
6205 0841(ph)     6205 0007(f)
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