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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 9 Hansard (23 November) . . Page.. 2447 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

We need to look at the experience in other areas. We need to look at what councils do, what other States do, apply a little commonsense and realise that contracting out of those facilities is a very important option and a real way of saving money. It is pointless doing that, obviously, if people are going to be priced out. Looking around the countryside, the price of entry to pools which are run by non-government bodies is in many instances lower or no greater than ours. If it is too expensive, you are going to price people out, and that is totally counterproductive. We appreciate that, but it is crazy to continue the way we are going. We can save significant money there, which can be used for the benefit of all in sport by better efficiencies. That is something this Government had in its election platform, not just in relation to sport but also in relation to other areas, and it is something we are very keen to see because it will be for the benefit of all. When the Opposition say that we are pricing people out of the market, that is crazy. If you do that, you do not have facilities, no-one is going to be interested in running them, and it is totally counterproductive for everyone. That is quite clearly a ludicrous statement.

Ms McRae mentioned ovals. I saw an amazing statement - it was a bit like Newcastle and the $15m for the Bruce Stadium thing from the Leader of the Opposition - about 100 sporting ovals to be privatised, sold or whatever. We would be lucky to have half-a-dozen organisations who would want to take over the management of half-a-dozen ovals. No-one would want to take over the management of a large number of our playing fields and it would be unrealistic to expect that. Sporting groups simply could not afford to do it and no-one would expect them to. It is quite clear that, for the vast majority of our ovals, the Government is going to have to continue to be responsible for them. I do not have a problem with that. There are a few sporting groups who are keen, either by themselves or in conjunction with other groups, to take over and run ovals, and that is something to be encouraged.

There are some very good proposals floating around at present. One of the soccer clubs has one, I understand; I think we are all aware of the Tuggeranong Valley Rugby Union Club's proposal in relation to Wanniassa oval, where they fitted in with the Aussie rules club when they moved out of the enclosed oval. They will go in with a few other groups and take that oval, redevelop it, and make it into a far better facility than it is. That sort of community involvement, that sort of initiative, should be encouraged, and this Government will certainly do that. But that is going to apply to only a handful of ovals because, quite simply, a lot of sporting groups are not in the game of doing that. The idea that all the ovals are going to be privatised or something like that is, quite clearly, nonsense.

As Mr Osborne said, there are some very good initiatives in this budget. In the lead-up to the 2000 Olympics, Canberra is going to need more enhancement of its Academy of Sport, which has done a very good job and has produced some excellent international standard athletes. This Government has poured in close on an extra $1m - it is about $990,000 or so - for the next financial year for 12 intensive training courses. We would be seeking to continue to support the academy in outgoing years because it is important that that receives, at that elite end of sport, proper support in the lead-up to the Atlanta Games and then the 2000 Olympics, as well as the Commonwealth Games in 1998. So that is a very important and essential initiative by this Government.

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