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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 1 Hansard (16 February) . . Page.. 143 ..
MR STANHOPE (continuing):
Originally, of course, it was Honest John, but that image has become a little tarnished. Honest John was the one who promised there would never be a GST. Honest John was the man who distinguished core from non-core promises, and the man who a letter writer suggested rather bluntly in a recent edition of the Canberra Times upheld one core promise at least - to put the family first. Honest John is the man who promised our Chief Minister that Canberra could host CHOGM and then without any notice took the gift back. I think we all need to acknowledge and accept that Kirribilli John fits much better than Honest John.
I come to the point of the motion. Why did the Prime Minister, John Howard, offer CHOGM to Canberra? Why did he make that decision and why did he then withdraw it? What are the implications for Canberra of the withdrawal? The history of this goes back some years. It goes back to the Edinburgh CHOGM, when it was announced that Australia would be the venue for the next CHOGM meeting. There was then much interest within Australia - within all the states and cities - in where CHOGM would be located. Canberra entered the bidding and some work was done, most notably by the ACT Convention Centre, with some assistance from the Chief Minister's Department.
The announcement was made on 19 February 1998, and it featured significantly in the news of 20 February 1998. It led the news on each of the TV stations on that night. It was on the front page of the Canberra Times on that day, the day before the last ACT election, quite coincidentally. The seed to this whole issue is that the decision by the Prime Minister to hold CHOGM in Canberra was announced on 19 February 1998 and appeared on the front page of the Canberra Times on 20 February, the day before the last ACT election.
We probably need to reflect on that. Why was a half-baked decision made on the day before the last ACT election that CHOGM would be held here in Canberra? It is quite a startling coincidence that we are dealing with here. The Prime Minister's press release of that day stated:
I am pleased to announce today that Canberra is to be the Federal Government's selection as the host city ...
The Prime Minister went on to say:
It is appropriate that such a meeting be held in the national capital at the centenary of our Federation.
Canberra is a capital city of which all Australians can be proud. CHOGM will give Australia the chance to showcase its capital to leaders from around the world.
The meeting will represent significant opportunities for Canberra businesses, particularly the hospitality and recreational sector ...
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