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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 1 Hansard (19 February) . . Page.. 109 ..

MR WHITECROSS: Mr Speaker, Mr Humphries will be disappointed to know that my question without notice is not to him; it is to the Chief Minister. Mrs Carnell, I refer to the article in this week's edition of the Chronicle, where it is reported that a Korean consortium is prepared to spend $100m on the redevelopment of EPIC. Chief Minister, is the Government currently engaged in talks with the consortium; is it true that the development will include a 20,000-seat stadium; and will your Government support such a development?

MRS CARNELL: Thank you very much, Mr Whitecross. I have not read the Chronicle, but I can answer that question. The Government is aware of the interest of Korean investors in the potential development at the EPIC site. In fact, I understand that EPIC has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korean group to jointly undertake an investigation of the feasibility of a major entertainment centre and related facilities on currently unused land at EPIC. At this stage, it is only an agreement to look to see whether the facility does stack up, both financially and of course in terms of other issues such as planning, environmental things and so on. The Government certainly supports the initiative taken to support this idea. When investors come into town with significantly more than $100m, we do not tell them to pack their bags and go home; but at this stage, as I understand it, it is very much only an agreement to investigate the feasibility of this centre.

MR WHITECROSS: I have a supplementary question. Mrs Carnell, will you provide us with a copy of the memorandum? Is that possible? Further to that, how do you envisage that this proposal will affect the Bruce Stadium redevelopment? Is Canberra big enough for two 20,000-seat stadiums?

MRS CARNELL: That is the reason why you need to have a feasibility study; I fully agree. I have to say that, when this proposal was first floated, those were the sorts of sentiments that certainly the Government shared very much. The memorandum of understanding is with EPIC, not with the Government at this stage. There is no doubt that a feasibility study needs to be done. As I understand it, the proposal that has been put forward is for an entertainment centre rather than a normal stadium. I understand that it has convention-style facilities and hotel-style facilities, rather than being what would normally be regarded as an outdoor sporting stadium. But, again, if an investor comes to town with significant amounts of money - an investor that, I understand, has entered into these sorts of arrangements previously and is building similar sorts of facilities in other parts of the world - this Government will certainly be encouraging it to continue to look to Canberra, and a proper feasibility study will be entered into.

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