Page 3968 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 9 November 1994
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Mr De Domenico: They needed their electorates then; they do not need them any more. They are taking them for granted.
MR STEFANIAK: That is exactly right. They think they are pretty safe and they take them for granted. Hopefully, they will get a surprise. Even as late as 1 June 1994, the Minister for the Arts in the Federal Parliament, Michael Lee, reassured people at a meeting at Yarramundi Reach, stating, "Do not worry. The site is not a problem. It is okay". Unfortunately, he has done a complete backflip.
What we have, Mr Deputy Speaker, is quite clearly a third-rate solution to what could have been an excellent project. Yarramundi Reach, for the full Museum of Australia, would have been excellent. There are 88 hectares there, as opposed to 15 on Acton Peninsula. Yarramundi Reach is a perfect site for the original concept of the museum, which was our Aboriginal heritage blending in with white settlement, blending in with further development of Australia. Now we simply cannot see that. We are lucky to have anything at all. If certain members of the Federal Labor Party had their way, even the Aboriginal elements of the museum would have gone to Adelaide. What the Federal Labor Government has done is a great shame, and I think it is a great shame that members opposite have not criticised them more and stood up for Canberra's rights more on this issue, instead of quietly acquiescing and trying to put on a brave face about a disgraceful reneging on an election promise by the Prime Minister.
MR WOOD (Minister for Education and Training, Minister for the Arts and Heritage and Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning) (4.19): Mr Humphries and Mr Stefaniak, on behalf of the Liberals, have come in here and postured as some sort of heroes trying to save the National Museum. I said before, by way of interjection, that they have absolutely no background and no credibility. I cannot, with any degree of seriousness, accept what they say. There is no doubt that it has always been our preference that the Museum of Australia be located at the Yarramundi site, and we will continue to work to see whether that can be achieved. Nevertheless, the Federal Government has made its decision, and we accept that a Gallery of Aboriginal Australia will be located on Acton Peninsula. There is no suggestion from the Opposition that that is something to be applauded. The decision in that respect is still a positive one not only for the nation but certainly for our community.
Let me give some more credit to the Federal Government. The gallery should be viewed in the context of that Government's wider cultural policy and its impact on the ACT - and a very beneficial one at that. The proposed extension to the National Gallery, continued refurbishment of Old Parliament House, which will itself become part of the museums network, and the upgrading of the National Film and Sound Archive are all initiatives which have the potential to increase our cultural tourist numbers and, with it, to provide an added stimulus to our economy and a greater cultural base in the ACT. Because Opposition members are out of sorts, they will not give one moment's recognition to those very significant achievements. The museum will continue to develop its travelling exhibitions. This also provides an opportunity for the ACT, through our own cultural and heritage centre, to develop exhibitions of particular significance to our community. Again, that did not attract any praise from the Opposition.
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