The general-manger of Instant of Furniture, John Louttit, is to move from the position at the end of September.
Mr Louttit came to the job 2 (2 and a half) years ago when Lou Westende got control back of the public company which he had lost earlier. Mr Westende is a Liberal MLA.
Mr Louttit has been president of the Canberra Chamber of Commerce since June 1992. In that capacity he is to go to Japan in a delegation with the Labor Chief Minister, Rosemary Follett, in October. The chamber and private industry generally have supported the trip. Liberal Party MLAs have strongly attacked the cost of the trip, $180,000, in the Assembly and elsewhere.
The attacks by MLAs have caused some dismay and private accusations of churlishness by rank-and-file Liberal members, especially those with private-industry links, who think the $180,000 is not a great deal and would be money well spent.
And in public, the president of the Canberra Business Council, George Snow, who is a Liberal Party member, said at the “”Canberra Face the Nation?” lunch that he would have criticised Ms Follett is she did not go to Japan. Mr Louttit is also president of the Rotary Club of Canberra.
Asked yesterday why he was leaving IOF he said, “”It was time to call it quits and do something else.” He and Mr Westende had turned to company back to profitability. He said also, “”I have a strong commitment to Canberra and I will be staying here.”
Other than that he had not yet made any definite plans, other than “”I will definitely be going to Tokyo”.