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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 10 Hansard (5 September) . . Page.. 3161 ..

MRS CARNELL: I was trying to answer it for Mr Wood; but, obviously, those opposite do not want me to.

MR SPEAKER: I think that the least his colleagues could do is give him the courtesy of listening in silence.

MRS CARNELL: He did indicate that he wanted an answer. This also, Mr Speaker, includes landscaping to ensure that the site is in keeping with surrounding areas. The site is on land that is under the control of the National Capital Authority, as those opposite would know. The NCA was consulted about the proposal and agreed to the location of and the plans for the multipurpose facility. The stadium is only temporary and can be used by the community at any time for a variety of ball games, in-line skating, hockey, concert facilities or events related to such things as the Masters Games next year. This facility will be able to be used for all sorts of things. Temporary seating can be added at short notice to transform the venue into a mini stadium seating something like 2,000 patrons. The only permanent feature will be the concrete base surrounded by the appropriate retaining wall. The site has been chosen for a number of reasons. I suppose the major one is its lack of proximity to residential areas and the fact that it is right there in the centre of the city; particularly near Floriade, with accessibility to public transport and so on.

Mr Speaker, the second part of that question was to do with financing. As those opposite may or may not have remembered, we have not actually brought down the budget at this stage. As much as Mr Wood obviously forgot for a moment that the budget has not been brought down, such issues will be looked at in relation to the budget. But, as those opposite would also realise, $250,000 is very much in the area of minor capital works. It is a quite minor amount of money for a facility that will bring so much to the ACT. The first of those events, of course, is the four-nation futsal championship this month, from 26 to 29 September, at which stage we will have four teams - the Australian team; the world champions, Brazil; Canada; and Japan - in the ACT. The final will be televised by SBS television.

Mr Berry: These are the dearest aeroplane tickets we have ever bought.

MRS CARNELL: I heard Mr Berry say that this is a very expensive approach. Mr Speaker, I would have thought, for an international event followed by such things as the Masters Games, all sorts of other - - -

Ms McRae: They could have played it on the Hawker oval.

MRS CARNELL: That is interesting. The Opposition spokesperson on sport said, "Who would possibly play there?". Mr Speaker, the reality is that, at the launch yesterday, we had the person who heads up tennis in the ACT saying that he thought that would be a great site. We had the person who is currently looking after the Masters Games saying, "What a great site" and "Will not this be a wonderful place to play?". We have had people from soccer, we have had people from all sorts of sports in the ACT say, "What a great site" and "Yes, we will use it". As well as that, Mr Speaker, there are all sorts of capacities in the area of the arts. We could easily have outdoor concerts. We could have all sorts of things in that arena.

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