Page 2950 - Week 08 - Thursday, 25 June 2009
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Who is this clever minister who, on the one hand, sought to save funds by cutting fees, yet, on the other hand, is increasing administration by imposing a new body who will advise all but seemingly be responsible to none? We do not seem to know how it will fit into the whole scheme of things. The question is still there: why did the minister not simply seek one or two community representatives for the board? I do not think this minister has any idea about microeconomics and micromanagement, as he clearly has no idea how to save costs with managing EPIC.
If this was not bad enough, the minister then sought to tarnish the reputation of current and former members of the EPIC board, accusing the board basically of misappropriating funds. I refer to page 1206 of Hansard:
In fact, the reserves—
speaking about the reserves that EPIC have—
that this organisation has have largely been from government appropriations, as I think I have indicated before …
That suggestion has never been made. The minister should talk to the board. The minister should apologise to the board. It is a result of their prudent management—the management that he, in this place, praised them for, saying that they have done a really good job. But then he seeks to undermine that praise by saying, “They actually have not done what I have said they have done; they have simply taken money that was appropriated for other things and put it into their cash reserves.” There is no evidence for what he said; there is no basis for it; and they are completely inappropriate comments. It is simply an inappropriate way for a minister to act.
There then remains the issue of the master plan. It has never been seen by this Assembly, to my knowledge. If there are concerns about the strategy, then the government need to give some leadership and the government need to show some leadership and give the board some direction. Instead, what the Stanhope-Gallagher government do is steal the board’s concept of cheaper accommodation on the EPIC site. For five years the board of EPIC has sought block 751; for five years they have been denied that; and now we know that the government will sell it and make the profit themselves, instead of securing the future of EPIC.
Accommodation is integral to so many of the events that are run at EPIC. It is important that we get this right; it is important that the accommodation there matches in with the planning regime that EPIC has had so that a block booking, for instance, for the National Folk Festival can be made. The easiest way to do that is to allow EPIC to have the block. But of course the government, for reasons that still have never been fully explained, have not responded. For five years the board have been seeking confirmation of their master plan and for five years they have been stymied in that.
I think the minister and the Stanhope-Gallagher government should be condemned for the way that they have acted towards EPIC and for the way that they have slowed down the progress of EPIC in this way. (Second speaking period taken.)
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