Page 4411 - Week 15 - Tuesday, 19 November 1991
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The papers lacked the usual phone messages, odd comments, notes, aides-memoire, records of phone conversations and the like. Those papers, if they ever existed, were never located, so far as I can determine. It was apparent to me that a good deal of oral history went with the outgoing former Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Whalan. Much of what we still need to know will be revealed only by oral testimony and examination.
From the Territory's point of view, recorded history starts with a news release by the former Minister for Arts, Tourism and Territories, the Hon. Clyde Holding, MP, on 3 May 1989. The Minister announced the engagement of Price Waterhouse, chartered accountants, to negotiate on behalf of the ACT Administration a financial arrangement with the Canberra Raiders for the long-term hiring of the national outdoor stadium at Bruce.
The Minister referred in his release to the finalisation of financial arrangements with the Raiders as being an important step in ensuring the successful relocation of the Raiders to Bruce for the 1990 football season. The Minister advised that, to allow the Raiders to move to Bruce, an undertaking was given that the stadium would be redeveloped to make it suitable for rugby league and other field sports and that athletics facilities would be provided by upgrading the existing athletics warm-up track to a national standard facility. The Minister added that it was proposed that the ACT Administration would lease the stadium from the Australian Institute of Sport, and that negotiations on the terms and conditions of the lease were well advanced.
Significantly, the Minister advised that not only would the Raiders have a greatly improved home ground but also it would be possible for other field sports to make use of this community asset, and that the ACT athletics community would have access to a national standard athletics field with a new grandstand and associated administrative facilities. Members will recall that these announcements were made seven days before the swearing-in of this Assembly and the day before the poll was declared. It was clear at that time to all observers that the ACT Labor Party had not won office in its own right.
On 5 June 1989 Price Waterhouse responded to their appointment of 3 May 1989 in a letter to Mr Peter Conway, acting director of the ACT Office of Sport, Recreation and Racing. Price Waterhouse advised that, on the instructions given to them at the time of their appointment, they were to ensure that sufficient income needed to be generated from the Raiders and other sources to cover the operating costs of the trust which would be set up to administer the stadium. Price Waterhouse advised:
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