Page 1440 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 6 June 2007
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
(4) notes that a tender for the continued management by the private sector, under Government supervision, closed on 24 May 2007 and is currently being evaluated; and
(5) notes that, concurrently with the tender process, the Government will consider all options for assuring ongoing and effective public use of the Hall.”.
MR MULCAHY (Molonglo) (11.01): Mr Speaker, I propose to speak in opposition to the amendment and in support of the original motion moved by Mr Pratt. I am pleased to speak in support of my colleague’s motion today. This is a very important motion and I am pleased, as I know the Our Albert Hall group is, that we are able to debate this matter in the Assembly before we break at the end of the week. I reject the suggestion that we should stall all this until August, because there is pressing community demand that this matter be considered by the Assembly at this time and not be put on the backburner for some months.
I think that the ACT government has been surprised to an extent by how much passion this issue has incited in the Canberra community. Quite frankly, I am not at all surprised. The Canberra community has issued a very strong warning to this government, as it did with the closure of the Griffith library, that it is to be ignored at the government’s peril. The Albert Hall, of course, is an historic icon in Canberra. It was completed in 1928, just 15 years after the founding of Canberra.
This motion notes the current poor condition of the Albert Hall, which is a disgrace and an indictment of those responsible for the complex: the ACT government. It is no good saying that it is the fault of someone back in 1997. This government was not elected last week, it has been in power since 2001 and it is the government’s responsibility.
The hall was designed for the Federal Capital Commission by architects John Kirkpatrick, Robert Casboulte and Henry Rolland. From the time of its construction until the 1960s, when it was overtaken by the Canberra Theatre, the Albert Hall was Canberra’s premier entertainment venue. As we all know, because members attend many of these events to this day, the hall continues to host a number of events, including exhibitions, balls, cultural and artistic performances, and public meetings. It also hosts civic functions such as citizenship ceremonies and public meetings which are vitally important to our community. That is a function of the hall that could well be expanded.
There is no doubt that the Albert Hall is a treasured community asset. The hall has a significant and ongoing cultural value in the ACT and this value is clearly demonstrated by the strong feelings generated over the last few months. I have been fortunate to have had discussions with the Our Albert Hall group and with other ACT residents that are concerned about the state of the Albert Hall and the current tender. I would like to acknowledge the sterling effort by Di Johnstone, who is in the gallery today, and her colleagues who have vigorously and relentlessly pursued this issue on behalf of the people in the area who share the concern that those of us on this side of the chamber share in relation to the future of that wonderful facility.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .