Absence ofMinisters I 1 September 1986 ASSEMBLY 191 Thursday, 11 September 1986 The SPEAKER (the Hon. C. T. Edmunds) took the chair at 10.34 a.m. and read the prayer. ABSENCE OF MINISTERS The SPEAKER-Order! I have to advise the House that the Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China arrives in Melbourne this morning and, on behalf of the State of Victoria, the Premier is welcoming the distinguished visitor. Therefore, he will be absent from the House during questions without notice. I have also been advised that the Minister for Water Resources will be absent during questions without notice today. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE VISIT BY POPE JOHN PAUL 11 Mr BROWN (Gippsland West)-I refer the Minister for Transport to the forthcoming visit to Victoria by Pope John Paul in November and the understandable desire of tens of thousands of Victorians to travel to Melbourne by train to see the pontiff. Will the Minister reverse the outrageous decision to cancel the normal super-saver fares on V/Line interurban and intercity services during the Pope's visit in what is a greedy and ungracious attempt by the Government to profiteer from the visit? The SPEAKER-Order! The honourable member for Gippsland West made an imputation that is ill founded. I ask him to withdraw the latter part of his question and then I shall call the Minister for Transport. Mr BROWN-Mr Speaker, I withdraw that part of the question and replace it with the words, "an outrageous attempt by the Government to profiteer from the visit." Mr ROPER (Minister for Transport)-It will cost the rail system a considerable amount of money to provide the significant additional services that will be required for that particular period because they will have to be provided to both the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Flemington. Special efforts are being made in the public transport system in conjunction with those organising the visit to ensure that it goes well. No decision has been made about the terms of any fare arrangements that are proposed for that time. We will be ensuring that as many people as posible can get there comfortably. Mr Brown-The decision has already been announced! Mr ROPER-The honourable member for Gippsland West might have announced the decision but I certainly have not announced it. The Government makes it clear that we are doing everything in our capacity to ensure that people can get to and from the venues. We are pleased the Pope is visiting, and our officers will make sure the system works. GRAIN FREIGHT RATES Mr W. D. McGRA TH (Lowan)-Following the assurance given by the Minister for Transport in an answer to my question yesterday that full consultation had taken place with the grain industry before the announcement of the grain freight rates for 1986-87, can the Minister deny that the decision was made by Cabinet on or before 16 June 1986, 192 ASSEMBLY 11 September 1986 Questions without Notice when ongoing discussions with the Victorian Farmers Federation did not start until 23 June 1986? Mr ROPER (Minister for Transport)-Ongoing discussions about the Budget are still occurring, as the honourable member for Lowan would know. The Ministry was asked to prepare figures on grain freight rates to ascertain full efficiency and then to discus~ them with the Victorian Farmers Federation once the figures were finalized. I was then able to advise the Treasurer of the outcome and we were able to strike the rate. After I discussed that matter and had it cleared-following discussions with the federation-the figure was publicly announced. SPOLETO FESTIVAL Mrs SETCHES (Ringwood)-Will the Minister for the Arts inform the House of the benefits of holding the Spoleto Festival in Melbourne and give details of the ticket sales? Mr MATHEWS (Minister for the Arts)-I am delighted to inform the honourable member for Ringwood that there has been immense interest in the Spoleto Festival, both within Victoria and from other States. That interest has been reflected in extensive ticket sales. The original budget estimate figures for the festival called for a total of $800 000 in ticket sales. That estimate has been consistently exceeded since tickets first went on sale, with the result that the estimate was revised upwards initially from $800 000 to $1 million and again from $1 million to $1·2 million. At the beginning of this week, $ 791 000 worth of tickets had already been sold. By the end of the week, that is prior to the commencement of the festival, I believe $900 000 worth of advanced sales will have taken place. It is clear that the budget estimate for the festival will be comfortably met, if not exceeded. I suggest to any honourable members who may not as yet have secured tickets for major festival events that they would be wise to do something about it without further delay. Ken Russell's production of Madama Butterfly is sold out at this stage; the Spanish ballet is close to being sold out and the tickets for The Colla Marionettes of Milan are likewise selling extremely rapidly. I hope by now all honourable members will have received the comprehensive schedule setting out all the events that will occur during the Spoleto Festival and that they will be impressed by the immense energy that has been put behind the festival by the organisers of its three streams: by the organisers of the Spoleto Festival proper, 1986 Spoleto Melbourne, Festival of Three Worlds; by Piccolo Spoleto, which has been designed to enable the ethnic communities within Victoria to make their contribution to the festival; and Spoleto Fringe, which is designed to bring to Melbourne the great benefits that have been associated with the Edinburgh Festival through the establishment of Edinburgh Fringe. The fact that Victoria has now become the first State in Australia to acquire a festival from the international arts circuit is of immense significance to the tourist industry in this State and country. Every year large numbers of people flock to Spoleto in Italy for the festival which Menotti initiated 27 years ago. Similarly, every year those people and others follow up the Spoleto Festival in Italy by going to Spoleto Charleston in the United States of America. Melbourne has now acquired a tourist magnet comparable on the international circuit to Spoleto Italy and Spoleto Charleston. The Government intends to build on that success. As a further scheme to what is already being provided within the ambit of the festival, my colleague, the Minister for Industry, Technology and Resources, had agreed that there should be retail trading in the central business district of Melbourne on the afternoon of Saturday, 20 September until 5 p.m. Questions without Notice 11 September 1986 ASSEMBLY 193 HAWKESDALE HIGH SCHOOL CONTRACT Mr COOPER (Mornington)-Would the Minister for Public Works explain how a contract for painting and repairs worth more than $130 000 at the Hawkesdale High School was let by his department to a person with no fixed address, no tools of trade, no driving licence, no vehicle and no building industry expertise? Mr WALSH (Minister for Public Works)-The honourable member for Mornington should have been here on Tuesday night when the honourable member for Warrnambool raised the same question and he put it a lot better than the honourable member for Mornington has done today. I compliment the honourable member for Warrnambool on the way in which he handled the situation that existed at Hawkesdale. The contractor was checked out by the department and it found that he was up to standard when the contract was let. He had a job in the State of Victoria in the Otways which was satisfactory, I understand, from information I received. My department found after investigating on site that the work of the contractor was not up to standard and the contractor was taken off the job. When a department is letting more than 50 000 work contracts a year, sometimes there will be problems with some contracts but if the department moves quickly it can rectify the situation. I assure the House that the job at Hawkesdale High School will be completed in a short period by a new contractor. GRAIN FREIGHT RATES Mr HANN (Rodney)-Is the Minister for Transport aware that the former managing director of V/Line, Mr K. M. Fitzmaurice wrote to the Director-General of Transport, Mr R. J. Ingersoll, on 16 June 1986 advising him that Cabinet had approved V/Line's proposed grain rates for 1986-87, which resulted in an over-all rate decrease of 5 per cent, and also that Cabinet had approved V/Line's submission to introduce radial rating concurrent with the rate reduction? If the Minister is aware of this letter, can be confirm the fact that Cabinet had made a decision on this matter prior to 16 June and how can he then reconcile this with his statement made to Parliament yesterday that Cabinet did not make a decision on this matter until after discussions had been held with the Victorian Farmers Federation? Mr ROPER (Minister for Transport)-I thank the honourable member for a further opportunity of mentioning that the Government has done more for grain growers than any previous Government. I believe the Lloyd report shows that. I discussed this matter with my colleagues, particularly with the Treasurer, about the way in which we could bring in radial rating at no extra cost to the farming community and also how the Government could assist them during their difficult time.