Ginninderra News - July 2003

Assembly News

Since becoming Speaker, Wayne has initiated a range of community programs to give Canberrans more opportunities to get to know the Assembly better.

New Citizens Evenings

Each month at the Assembly many people take out Australian citizenship. Wayne, as Speaker, performs the ceremony and in the following months he invites participants to come to the Assembly one evening to meet the members and have a behind the scenes tour. The guests are offered light refreshments and Wayne explains the work of the Assembly as well as introducing them to the Assembly chamber.

Open Day

The Assembly Open Day was held in September during Floriade. Wayne met all visitors on arrival and gave them an Open Day pamphlet and an Assembly badge. The visitors were then escorted around the building by members and staff who volunteered to act as tour guides. The tour groups visited the Chamber, the Ministers’ and Members’ offices; the Committee Rooms and the courtyards. Each tour took approximately 45 minutes.

Tour of Artworks

The ACT Legislative Assembly Art Advisory Committee has been slowly acquiring artworks since its inception several years ago. To coincide with the 2003 ACT & Region Heritage Festival in April, Wayne organised a tour of the Assembly art works. The theme was Journeys – exploring the different political journeys in the works of art. The Assembly Curatorial Advisor selected ten significant artworks in the Assembly collection and conducted the tour.

School programs

The Assembly conducts a range of educational programs for school students from all age groups. They range from Assembly visits up to the Schools Constitutional Convention. The aim is to make students familiar with our democratic processes as well as the ACT Legislative Assembly.