Page 313 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 31 May 1989
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especially the Government, have a responsibility to administer the ACT in as cost-effective a way as possible. Who is to pay that $5.5m? Is it meant to come from the community? The question then is: Can we really afford it? I have seen no proposal in recent months which would indicate that that money would be paid other than by the ACT community.
There was one statement from a public official in relation to payment for the move, and that was from Mr Tony Blunn, the Secretary of DASETT at the Senate Estimates Committee on Tuesday, 11 October 1988. In reply to a question from Senator Puplick in relation to the payment he said, "Payment will be the responsibility of the ACT Administration in terms of the lease. Where it will get the money from is a matter for it, but there will be some arrangements. It will be its responsibility as the lessee also to upgrade the training track". That is reported in Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) in the Senate Estimates Committee, Tuesday, 11 October last year.
One question that must be asked when we are talking about this move is whether there is any other way, apart from what appears to be the current proposal, to rip up the main track, returf the field and upgrade the warm-up track, to satisfy some of the athletics requirements, thus expending some $6.4m to $6.5m if the costs are right?
Another question is: Will football games - especially rugby league because basically it is the Raiders who will be using it, but rugby union as well because it has the facility - be able to be played there under any other circumstances? Detailed consideration should be given to the alternatives to ripping up the running track, which is very much the key to the economic equation.
In 1987 the city-country league game was played at the stadium. On 18 February of this year there was a four team knockout, which the Raiders won. On 10 May the Canberra Kookaburras rugby union team played the AIS and I am pleased to say they won too. My colleague Mrs Nolan and I went out there to watch the game.
Mr Humphries: I went too!
MR STEFANIAK: No; you went to Seiffert. That is a different oval. It is in Queanbeyan. On those occasions the game was played within the confines of the grassed area there. I can appreciate that that is within the specifications for rugby league and indeed within the specifications for rugby union, albeit on a slightly narrower scale.
On that occasion, too, there was a limited dead ball area, which is very important when you are talking about rugby league and rugby union. Some provisions were made, as indeed there would have to be, to protect players tackled outside the sideline. That is virtually where the
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