Andrew Barr has announced the new members for the board of Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC):
- New Members include Gary Byles, Tom Elliott and Liz Clarke of Territory and Municipal Services and
Ms Chris Faulks, Chief Executive Officer, Canberra Business Council.
Reappointed Board Members are Neale Guthrie of Territory Venues and Events and Mr Gil Anderson.
Continuing Board Members are:
• Robyn Hendry of the Canberra Convention Bureau
• Peter Barclay, Proprietor of King O’Malley’s Irish Pub in Civic and
• Jean McIntyre.
A lot of people on that board who are employees of the ACT Government one can’t help but notice.
UPDATE: The Liberals’ Brendan Smyth has expressed his unhappiness with the appointments:
- The Minister for Tourism, Andrew Barr, has thumbed his nose at a decision, made by the Legislative Assembly, to retain the independent Board of the Exhibition Park Corporation, according to the Shadow Minister for Tourism, Brendan Smyth.
“In a disgraceful display of arrogance, the Minister has appointed four very senior ACT TAMS public servants to the Board of the Exhibition Park Corporation (EPC), as a means of bringing Exhibition Park under the direct influence of the Stanhope Gallagher Government,” Mr Smyth said.
“This decision by the Minister flies in the face of a clear expression of the Assembly, when it voted on 5 May 2009 not to repeal the Exhibition Park Corporation Act.
“In that debate, the Canberra Liberals argued strongly in favour of retaining an independent and commercially oriented Board for the EPC.