Page 931 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 25 February 2009
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motion and our interest in it remain the same, there is a separation of the issues that had been included in the Andrew Barr amendment for reference to the committee.
I must say that the government does not have particularly strong views on this, though I think on balance our view would be that there would be continuing sense in a single reference and a review of all aspects of this issue of live music and live music venues in support of live music. The issue would benefit from a more general or inclusive consideration of all the issues that have been identified as reasonable.
In going to some of the issues, I might just say that the ACT government does have a reasonably strong record in the provision of community space for bill posters. We do benchmark against a significant number of cities, jurisdictions or communities around Australia in relation to the municipal services and infrastructure that we provide, and it is a feature of Canberra that we do invest heavily, particularly on a comparative basis, against other cities.
For instance, there are only eight legal bill posting sites in the city of Sydney, and when one compares the city of Sydney with the ACT, we currently have five. Sydney has a total of eight and we are in the process of adding to that. Nevertheless, it is a very real issue. But it is also relevant for governments to compare, because there is a cost to everything, the nature and level of services which we provide. That, just by way of background, suggests that this is an issue that the government has taken seriously, and an area in which we have recognised need and to which we have responded.
As I say, I do not have a particularly strong view about Ms Le Couteur’s amendment and in the end we are happy to work with Ms Le Couteur and the committee in advancing the interests of live music within the ACT. It is a sector that does need support. I think we are all aware of some of the frustration within the community and I do have a very strong, genuine desire to support all artistic and creative activity. I think that the live music area is an area where there is a genuine need for greater support and I have sought in my own way to advance that.
I turn to the issue of late night transport options for large-scale events. It is an issue that once again would probably benefit from the capacity of the committee to consult and its insight. But it does raise issues that need to be addressed. I think a comparison between late night music events and the perhaps unsatisfactory nature of some of the transport options for actually departing the scene of large live music events can be compared, for instance, to regular Raiders or Brumbies matches. This was an issue that was drawn to my attention today.
It perhaps goes to the heart of Ms Le Couteur’s concern or interest in a way. For example, Canberra Stadium most particularly, in consultation with the Brumbies and the Raiders—the users—has developed transport options for facilitating the movement of significant numbers of patrons from Canberra Stadium to other places. The system works reasonably well, but it is not a standard ACTION or a standard public transport response. It is a specific response and there is a significant cost. It is a cost over and above that of an ACTION fare.
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