Page 1225 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 11 May 1993
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TOURISM AND A.C.T. PROMOTION - STANDING COMMITTEE
Statement by Presiding Member
MR WESTENDE: Madam Speaker, I ask for leave to make a statement regarding the visit of the Standing Committee on Tourism and ACT Promotion to Cooma, the Snowy Mountains, Tumut and Yass on 15 and 16 April 1993.
Leave granted.
MR WESTENDE: The committee visited Cooma, Berridale, the Kosciusko National Park, Tumut and Yass over the two days of 15 and 16 April. The purpose of the visit was to complete work undertaken by the committee last winter when it visited the alpine and south-east coastal regions. The visit gave the committee important insights into the region's enormous value as a tourism drawcard and the potential for both the region and the ACT to develop tourism on a cooperative basis for the mutual benefit of both areas. The value of that visit was reflected in the committee's discussion paper on ACT and south-east region tourism which it presented to the Assembly last November.
On this occasion the committee's prime focus was in following up with regional shire councillors and officers in the Snowy Mountains region and in Yass the specific ACT and region cooperation issues which had been covered by the discussion paper and to assess what additional factors ought to be taken into account in the committee's report to the Assembly. The discussions were frank, constructive and cordial. They reinforced the committee's view that the ACT and the region have a strong tourism and economic interdependence. The committee considers that every effort should be made by all levels of the governments concerned to ensure that the advantages to the ACT and the region of this interdependence are maximised to generate worthwhile employment.
These themes were further explored by the committee during the forum held on 29 April in Canberra. The forum had as its basis the conclusions reached by the committee in its discussion paper. Those attending included the chief executives of organisations involved in the ACT and region tourism industry, representatives of regional shires and senior ACT government officials. The forum has played a significant part in the finalisation of the committee's report which it expects to present to the Assembly in June, and the committee expresses its thanks to all those that participated.
The committee also expresses its appreciation to the shire councils and officers and to the manager of the Kosciusko National Park for sharing with the committee their experience of the relevant issues and for giving freely of their time and hospitality.
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