Page 1429 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 11 May 1994
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facility. I suppose the question now is: Who is going to own it, and will Canberra, or the ACT region and its economic interests, be taken into account in the process which the Federal Government has now announced? That is the reason why it is important that we do not lose sight of the fundamentals in considering what should happen to the airport.
The scoping study which is being undertaken by the Commonwealth will determine how they will allow the Federal Airports Corporation to divest itself of its asset here in the ACT, and, indeed, its assets around Australia. We need to be mindful not to buy a pig in a poke and say, "Oh yes, we are in. Here is the cheque book. Here is your $60m, your $100m, your $90m," or whatever the price tag ends up being, and then find out that there is going to be unfettered use by the air force; that they will still have direction and control over all of the activities, and that they will still have control over the development that may occur there. The Federal Airports Corporation currently lease Canberra Airport from the air force. Those things need to be clearly identified; and they will be, through the scoping study which is being undertaken by the Commonwealth. That is another matter that we need to bear in mind, Mr Stevenson, when considering this matter of public importance.
It is true that we in Canberra have a lot to gain from the conduct of the Olympics in Sydney because we are the home of the Australian Institute of Sport. That organisation not only has some of the best facilities in the world, but also is regarded as having best practice in the world when it comes to things like sports medicine and the training regimes and strategies that are developed at the elite level in world competition. We also have, dare I say it, a climate that is compatible with a very large region of the Northern Hemisphere, all year round. People who like to see the seasons will be competing in Australia at a time when they will need to have become acclimatised to Australian conditions, and Canberra provides the perfect opportunity for them to do so, albeit at a slightly higher altitude than Sydney. We are, by road, two hours away, in a very fast car. In a very fast train it would be only an hour and a half.
Mr Kaine: Cannot we have the not so fast train?
MR LAMONT: No, I will not go into that. In this debate there is a spirit of cooperation, Mr Kaine. We are placed in a perfect position, geographically and because of the facilities that are here, to take advantage of the Olympics. Obviously, what we need to adjudge in discussing this MPI is whether or not we can take advantage of the Olympics without an international airport. In my view we can. But if we do have an international airport we will be able to say to international federations, whether it is basketball, hockey, or any of the other Olympic sports, who between now and the year 2000 will be holding international competitions, "Look, with the minimum of fuss you can land at a venue called Canberra where you can participate at the elite level at some very well serviced grounds. You can take advantage of the excellent facilities we have". That is going to be a selling point in that period around the games.
What is not well recognised is that a four-year cultural program is generally developed in the lead-up to the games to promote the idea of friendship and international camaraderie. Obviously that will involve visits to Australia by a range of people who would not necessarily be identified as being involved in an elite sporting event. That is also an
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