Page 3956 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 9 November 1994
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Housing and Community Services - Department - Report for 1993-94 - Addendum.
Registrar of Financial Institutions - Report and financial statements, including the Auditor-General's report, for 1993-94.
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIA
Discussion of Matter of Public Importance
MADAM SPEAKER: I have received a letter from Mr Humphries proposing that a matter of public importance be submitted to the Assembly for discussion, namely:
The impact on the ACT of the Federal Labor Government's decision to gut the proposal for a National Museum of Australia.
MR HUMPHRIES (3.42): This is a real matter of public importance for debate in this place. It is a pity that there are not more members here to discuss this matter of importance. I think that a lot of citizens of this Territory would be pretty distressed to see how few Labor members are sitting on the benches to listen to this important debate. There are few issues which could be more important to this Territory than the disgraceful behaviour of the Federal Labor Government with respect to the National Museum.
Mr Wood: You have no credibility. You should be the last to talk.
MR HUMPHRIES: We will talk about credibility. I will show that there are some people who do not have much of it. In these remarks I will quote from august publications such as the Ros Kelly Advocate.
Madam Speaker, the Museum of Australia is an important cipher of Australia's cultural tradition and its cultural future. Indeed, I think it is fair to say that the Museum of Australia is in fact an important indicator of how we are and how we feel as Australians. Those of us who have been supporters of the Museum of Australia have long looked forward to the role that the museum would play in strengthening our sense of identity, in explaining it, in educating about it and in collecting the important artefacts which make up that identity and which illustrate the development of that identity over our history both before and after European settlement of this country.
Madam Speaker, a reflection of that importance that has been placed on the National Museum is the fact that all the parties in this place and, I think, most parties in the Australian political system believe that we need the National Museum and that it should be based in the ACT, along with important institutions such as the National Gallery and the Australian War Memorial. So, there is agreement about the importance of this institution. I do not think there is any argument about that today.
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