Page 1490 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 6 June 2007

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Personal explanation

MR PRATT (Brindabella): Mr Speaker, under standing order 46 I seek leave to make a personal statement.

MR SPEAKER: Have you been misrepresented, do you think, Mr Pratt?

MR PRATT: I would not quite go that far, Mr Speaker. I really do seek simply to clarify—yes, indeed, I would say that.

MR SPEAKER: Go ahead.

Mr Corbell: No. Leave is not granted.

MR SPEAKER: In relation to standing order 46, if it is not a personal statement—

Members interjecting—

MR SPEAKER: Order, members! If it is not a personal statement, please do not try and pursue it under standing order 46. If it is, pursue it under 46, but I will stop you if I find that it is not.

MR PRATT: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will adhere to your findings. Today in question time Mr Corbell indicated that I had attacked the level of funding for the emergency services in the budget. In fact, I did no such thing.

Trade and investment mission to China and delegation to Public Utilities Board in Singapore

Ministerial statement

MR STANHOPE (Ginninderra—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Business and Economic Development, Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Minister for the Environment, Water and Climate Change, Minister for the Arts) (4.05): I seek leave of the Assembly to make a ministerial statement concerning an ACT government trade and investment mission to China and a delegation to the Public Utilities Board in Singapore.

Leave granted.

MR STANHOPE: As members of the Assembly would be aware, I recently led a delegation of Canberra and region businesses to China, and visited Singapore on the return journey in order to inspect that city’s water purification system. I would like to report to the Assembly on some of the outcomes of the mission and the Singapore visit.

Canberra’s economic footprint is minuscule compared to China’s, or indeed against the footprint of many of China’s great cities. In fact, about three-quarters of all trade is now organised around the activities of multinational companies. For Canberra to continue our trajectory of strong economic growth we need to build stronger links to


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