Page 373 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 12 February 2013
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MR SMYTH: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Chief Minister, late last year Mr Barr at the tourism awards announced that the government would establish a committee to look at ensuring we get the maximum benefit from the centenary year. How will the government measure the long-term benefits of the centenary year and the effectiveness of the government’s expenditure?
MS GALLAGHER: Thank you, Mr Smyth. This is one of your pet issues, I think—how do you evaluate the success of the centenary program? There will be an evaluation that is undertaken. Obviously, some of that will be done as standard business for the tourism area of government. But the centenary team will also be evaluating their performance throughout the year.
I think that some of it will be hard to manage. Having been to a number of centenary events, I have not seen you at any centenary events, Mr Smyth.
Mr Smyth: I have not seen you at the ones I have been at.
MS GALLAGHER: Well, in respect of the ones I have been at, I think it is hard to measure the feeling in the room, the pride in the city, the general lift that people are experiencing when they are going to these events, because there is I think a very positive feeling about how the program has been put together and how it is being received. I do not know how you measure that, other than participating and enjoying yourself.
But it will be evaluated and I am sure we will be discussing the evaluation in the Assembly and, indeed, at things like estimates and annual reports.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Smyth.
MR SMYTH: Apart from MLAs, Chief Minister, how was the guest list for the opening of the arboretum determined and, except for the board members, was the business community excluded from that list?
MS GALLAGHER: Not at all. We had to limit the number of people attending that ceremony because of the time of day.
Mr Doszpot: Just Labor supporters?
MS GALLAGHER: No, wrong, Mr Doszpot, because I wanted children there. I wanted two children from every school, and that actually formed the largest part of the attendance. I thought it was important not to have the usual crowd that goes to every opening, that gets on the VIP list. I actually did make the decision that it should be about community, it should be about schools, it should be about the future of the city, which is children.
Mr Smyth: Businesses are not part of the community?
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