Falklands : Falklands: MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT SPEECH OF THE HON MR MIKE SUMMERS
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 02.06.2012 (Article Archived on 16.06.2012)
Mr Speaker, Honourable members, just a few brief remarks. I would like to give my customary remarks to the Treasury Staff for the work they put into preparing the Budget. Just because the thanks is customary doesn’t mean it’s any less sincerely delivered.
MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT SPEECH OF THE HON MR MIKE SUMMERS
Mr Speaker, Honourable members, just a few brief remarks. I would like to give my customary remarks to the Treasury Staff for the work they put into preparing the Budget. Just because the thanks is customary doesn’t mean it’s any less sincerely delivered. I know how much work it is. Well done to you all and thanks also for the AG’s staff who, at the back end of the process, have to get into some pretty tight schedules and had to produce a lot of draft legislation. So, thanks to everybody for that.
I think the one thing lacking from this budget process this year is the local television. I think it’s a shame that this session is not televised. I think they are doing a great job; I think Members of the Assembly are using FITV and the advantages it provides very positively and doing very well getting information out to the public and I think the company is doing a great job so I hope by next year we can to try and ensure we are using all of our media as productively as we possibly can and will look at ways of getting them into the Assembly Chambers.
I would like to associate myself with the remarks of the Honourable Sharon Halford about the order on psychoactive substances. It shows that when we want something done quickly we can do things quickly and congratulations to all those who worked hard on finding a way of at least putting in some temporary measures to ban what are potentially very dangerous substances and to protect some individuals from their own foolishness.
When I spoke on Wednesday to the Motion of Thanks to the Governor I missed something. I mentioned how grateful we were for very strong support from the UK Government from the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the Secretary of State for Defence. I meant at that time to also say that our thanks go equally to the Commander and his staff who provide us the confidence and support that we need to be able to go out around the world delivering our message. I am sorry I forgot that but thanks to all your staff.
I am happy to say that at the meeting last evening – the Annual General Meeting of the Falkland Islands’ Tourist Board and in parallel the extraordinary meeting of the Falkland Islands’ Tourist Board at which quite a number of the tourism community were present. It was agreed unanimously that the Tourism Industry would like to proceed on the basis of setting up a statutory corporation for the management of and delivery of the Tourism Industry here. I think that’s a really positive move and a way in which we can pull together the various elements of the Government and the private sector for the working of a successful Tourism Industry. And we will need therefore to start talking to officials and to other Members about how we are going to achieve that. But that’s a very positive decision from the Tourism Industry and a very clear message from the industry that they want to work together with Members of the Government and others to deliver both the infrastructure and the products that we need for a successful industry.
As has been mentioned the Honourable Roger Edwards and myself will be setting off shortly for the C-24. Roger will leave this Saturday and I will leave on the flight following. There is much to do during the course of those visits and I hope we have the opportunity and the ability to do it well. We’ve got plenty of practice at our age so it should be OK. But it’s nice to be able to take with us a couple of youngsters and it has been decided that we will take a student and another youngster from the community – Andy Pollard and Kristine Ormond will be accompanying us both in Washington and in new York and I think it will be a great experience for them and good support for us in dealing with the various media responsibilities we have
I certainly won’t reprise here what I intend to say at the C-24 but our speeches will be delivered on the 14th of June, which is a very important day for us. Certainly at the closing of my speech I will be inviting everybody present to toast the Freedom of the Falklands. Whether everybody will join in I am not quite sure.
It’s unfortunate to miss both the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations and the Commemorations of the Liberation but these things have to be done so I would just like to add my thanks to all of those who will be present and those who can’t and won’t be present, who contributed to the Liberation of the Falklands 30 years ago to remember the difficulties that some people still suffer and to offer our support and thanks and gratitude to all of them for the work they did for us.
Sir, I support the Motion.
(100X Transcription Service)
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