Add to:
Do you support the RTA's proposal for a footbridge across the Spit?
| International Monetary Fund World Bank Governors' Meeting 2015 |
| Thursday, 15 September 2011 | ||||||
|
Mr DAVID ELLIOTT: My question is addressed to the Treasurer. What progress has been made on the Government's commitment to bid for the annual International Monetary Fund World Bank Governors' Meeting to be held in Sydney in October 2015? The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Keira to order. Members on both sides of the Chamber will cease interjecting. Mr MIKE BAIRD: I congratulate the member for Baulkham Hills on the effort he has made in his electorate since the election in May 2011. He is tearing up the ground that was laid for him by the cocky, and he is doing very well. I wish I had better news to tell the House. Before the election the Coalition Opposition made a commitment that if elected we would work with the Federal Government to secure the hosting of the annual International Monetary Fund World Bank Governors' Meeting in Sydney in October 2015—a sensible proposal that we were keen to pursue. Dr Andrew McDonald: Let me guess, it is not your fault? The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Macquarie Fields for the second time. Mr MIKE BAIRD: Every three years this meeting is held in an International Monetary Fund country outside the United States of America. Around 10,000 people attend this meeting. It is exactly the sort of event and people that we want to bring to Sydney. In 2009, 13,000 people attended the meeting in Istanbul. The next meeting outside the United States is in Japan in 2012, and we had the target of 2015. Requiring up to 1,000 high-quality serviced offices, the event may also have coincided with the completion of the initial stages of Barangaroo. The event would have been of national economic interest, not just State interest, and Australia would have been at the forefront of securing reform from the International Monetary Fund Board of Governors to recognise the emerging economies of Asia and South-east Asia. Hosting the meeting in Sydney would also have helped cement Sydney's reputation as a global financial hub—an ongoing commitment of the O'Farrell Government. The Premier wrote to the Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, in May and on many subsequent occasions— Mr John Robertson: So it is Swan's fault? Mr MIKE BAIRD: He is responsible for many things. The SPEAKER: Order! Members should listen to the answer before they interject. The Leader of the Opposition will come to order. Mr MIKE BAIRD: At the moment he is working numbers for Julia. We sought an expression of interest from the Federal Government, which is required to enable the New South Wales Government to co-host the event. The Federal Government has to give its consent for New South Wales to host the meeting. The Department of Premier and Cabinet has been in touch with the International Monetary Fund, but without a formal expression of interest from the national Government to the International Monetary Fund the New South Wales Government is unable to bid to host the event. The New South Wales Government was positioned to commence working immediately on the bid preparations and requirements as soon as an expression of interest was confirmed. Several meetings with key agencies were held and a property analyst had been identified to undertake the associated property assessment needed to assess costs. Preliminary economic analysis has given an indication of the benefits that this event could bring to the State. The format required for the expression of interest—and this is an important point—was a simple letter from the national Government to the International Monetary Fund. It need only have been a one-line notification. It was made clear to Federal Treasury that the expression of interest, which was required by 9 September, need only be in the form of an intention to bid. Once intentions to bid are accepted, bidding jurisdictions receive a full bid manual detailing the information to be included, format requirements and all associated bid timelines—all the details to enable a comprehensive bid to be made. It was understood that the bid submissions would not be required until November. It was also made clear that all bids are non-binding and that bidding governments can withdraw their bids. Despite this—and this is my disappointing message to the House; on this last sitting day before a break I would rather have good news to tell the House—Wayne Swan was unable to write the letter required. He was literally unable to lift a finger for the people of New South Wales. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Canterbury will come to order. Mr MIKE BAIRD: I know I have spoken before about outsourcing the Opposition, but I think even members of the Opposition could have written the letter. It need only have been one line stating simply, "We support the New South Wales Government's bid for the International Monetary Fund event." That is all that was needed. However, there is still hope, notwithstanding the deadline. I hope to speak to the Federal Treasurer tonight to convince him to support the bid. The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will come to order. Mr MIKE BAIRD: If Opposition members are interested in New South Wales, they should get on the phone to their mates in Canberra and get them to support the bid. It is about time members opposite put the interests of the State first rather than the interests of their political party. They should get on board and support the International Monetary Fund bid, because New South Wales deserves better than Federal Labor has delivered to this State. Add to: Write Comment
|
||||||
