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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 4107 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

which is a multipurpose facility. I think you will be pleased to see that it will be a very good adjunct to the Canberra sporting scene. So, Ms McRae, I think it is rather hard to criticise the sports budget, because it is a good one. If that is the best you can do, good luck to you.

MR WHITECROSS (Leader of the Opposition) (1.32 am): Mr Speaker, I have to apologise for some of my colleagues who were suggesting that this Government lacks imagination. I think that any government which is not only in the vanguard of innovative ideas like outdoor stadiums for indoor soccer but also on the cutting edge of introducing new and widely acclaimed sports like blade hockey to Canberra has to be congratulated. I look forward to the imminent announcement by SOCOG that blade hockey will be one of the sports at the Olympics in the year 2000.

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (1.33 am): Mr Speaker, those opposite do not know anything about sport. That is really what it comes down to. When Mr Lamont walked out the door, that was when their credibility in the sporting community really died. Under the previous Government, David Lamont provided funding to the Australian futsal championships of $120,000 over three years. David Lamont kept the national championships in Canberra over a number of years, to put us in a position of being able to be looked at as the futsal capital of Australia. We worked on that work that was done by David Lamont. Unfortunately, David Lamont would be extremely embarrassed and ashamed now.

Mr Speaker, the reality is that those opposite obviously would not realise that futsal is regularly played on outdoor fields. In fact, it is played on Copacabana Beach, in a stadium that looks a little bit more upmarket than ours, I have to admit; but it is played outdoors. There is one thing that I think is most important, Mr Speaker. Obviously, those opposite do not really seem to mind about it. I am surprised at Ms McRae, who always claims to be very interested in women's affairs, and particularly women's sport. The fact that the ACT will host the inaugural world women's championship for futsal next year is something that I believe we should all be proud of. I am certainly proud of that.

I believe that it shows that we are seen not only as the futsal capital of Australia but also as a prime venue in the world. The inaugural women's championship, a FIFA event, is a major sporting event. And why did we get it, Mr Speaker? We got it because we were interested. We went over to Brazil and did the background work. Interestingly, Mr Speaker, the four-nations championship that we recently had ended up with our getting a letter from probably the world's best known futsal advocate, somebody who is - - -

MR SPEAKER: Michael Jackson?

MRS CARNELL: No, not Michael Jackson; I am sorry. Mr Speaker, it has meant that we really do have a quite large profile amongst the FIFA community worldwide. That can only go to help us with our Olympic soccer bid. But it is the sort of thing you have to do, Mr Speaker, if you are going to get in there and give it a go. We want to make sure that we have a very good chance of getting some of these events. If you sit on your hands and do nothing, then nothing happens, Mr Speaker.

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