Page 293 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 31 May 1989
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
With reference to the National Museum and the strong support that has had from all speakers today, let me emphasise that as well because I think that is a critical factor. But, most importantly, let me take up Mr Wood's point about the lower end of the market. Let us not be ashamed of that end of the market and ignore those people who come to Canberra in their cars with their kids and stay in cheaper hotels or in camping areas. Possibly they come here in their kombis and do what I did when travelling in Europe - free park somewhere. But they still buy food when they are in Canberra. Indeed, they do several other things but, more importantly, there is a boomerang effect.
They learn about how wonderful Canberra is, as are the seasons, Canberra's special character, and the friendliness of its people. In those circumstances they are then tempted to come back and say to others, "We had a great time. You must go to Canberra". That is the sort of emphasis that we must not lose sight of. We must not concentrate everything on the five-star market and that sort of advertising. We must find ways to bring the lower end of the market in.
In regard to that lower end of the market, we have had indications that Mr Murray's coaches bring in visitors for a day and then take them out again, so that people spend no time overnight in Canberra. That is the sort of thing that I hope the Government will be looking at in terms of concessions offered to bus operators and so forth, for the overall sake of the economy.
Let me also throw out a suggestion. One of the things that I enjoyed immensely when I was in Canada was the Shakespearian festival that was carried out there, and there are others held in other places in the world as well. In fact, in Canada it is held in Stratford-upon-Avon in the same way as it is in England. However, I would hasten to add that I do not suggest that we ought to have our own Stratford-upon-Avon, but certainly the possibility of a Shakespearian festival should be explored as one of the sorts of attractions that people spoke about in terms of education. It would certainly suit people who are fans of Shakespearian or Elizabethan drama. It would certainly suit the older level school students who almost invariably study Shakespeare and who could experience what Shakespeare is like in real life in the way Shakespeare intended it to be, instead of just reading it from a book and having to hack through Shakespeare, as many many people in our society have had to do, instead of enjoying it the way it was intended as a performance on stage. There is a possibility there.
I summarise my remarks by saying that the Rally strongly supports initiatives by the Minister to work on tourism in this city, but let us also give a warning that it should not be allowed to be an excuse to do anything.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .