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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 3975 ..

MR OSBORNE: I ask a supplementary question. Minister, how much of this extra revenue that you will receive because of the increase will you be putting back into junior sport?

MR STEFANIAK: Mr Osborne, the Government puts in a considerable amount of money, and rightly so. Indeed, we have increased the amount of money since we have been the government. That is something I have been very proud of and something I think is very handy for Canberra. Quite rightly, the sport and recreation budget has increased considerably since self-government. I think people are starting to realise that Canberra does have the highest participation rate in sport of any State or Territory, and long may that be so. Long may we continue, be it this Government or any future government, to develop programs that enhance that. That is something we have done. That is something we are proud of. This Government has sought a number of opportunities to further enhance sport opportunities for our people. We have put considerable effort not only into elite sport but also into grassroots sport. It is important that all areas of sport and recreation continue to be adequately funded.

Obviously, we can always seek to do things better, and we have identified a number of areas. The fact of the matter, Mr Osborne, is that we have made a very considerable effort on behalf of the Canberra sport and recreational community. The peak sporting body, ACTSport, which was set up as a lobby group in April 1990 and which has been fairly critical on occasions when governments have lost the plot and not done the right thing by sport, has rightly praised the efforts of not only this Government but also the previous Sport Minister, Mr Lamont, and the Follett Government in the last few months of its term in office, which I readily acknowledge. Indeed, they have been fulsome in their praise of the efforts of this Government.

As Sport Minister, I will continue to consult widely within the sporting community. If people have a problem in any area, I am always happy to talk to them. I have talked to a couple of people in relation to such things as fees for juniors. We look at ways in which, within our budget, we can accommodate the needs of sporting groups as best we can. That is something I will continue to do, Mr Osborne. These fees are moderate and they were introduced only after extensive consultation with the sporting community.

MR WOOD: My question is to the Minister for Urban Services. Mr De Domenico, there are road signs all over Canberra which have been demolished or damaged by errant motorists. Minister, these unsightly and dangerous signs have been left unrepaired for a long time, certainly longer than any reasonable performance standard would allow. Would you do your job and get the signs fixed?

MR DE DOMENICO: I thank Mr Wood for his question. If Mr Wood gives me a list of all those signs that he is referring to, I will make sure something is done about it.

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