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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 7 Hansard (22 September) . . Page.. 2008 ..

MS CARNELL (continuing):

the Feel the Power campaign is Stuart Rendell. As members of this Assembly will know, recently Stuart Rendell, a 26-year-old athlete from Kambah, right here in the ACT, won a gold medal for the hammer throw - the first medal he had ever won in major competition, Mr Speaker.

Members interjected.

MR SPEAKER: Order! Everybody settle down and let the Chief Minister finish the answer.

MS CARNELL: They asked the question, and now they do not want to hear the answer. Mr Speaker, I actually think that Stuart Rendell did an absolutely great job on behalf of the people of Canberra. It is very interesting that Mr Rendell was without sponsorship, and it was looking as though it was going to be very hard for him to get to the world championships - - -

Mr Quinlan: What has that got to do with Feel the Power?

MS CARNELL: Everything, because guess who sponsors Stuart Rendell? The Feel the Power of Canberra campaign does. Mr Speaker, I cannot think of a better slogan for a world champion hammer thrower. Mr Rendell, plus many others, are out there marketing Canberra - not in the ACT, but in a world market - as a city that does have a very real power. It has not just political power, but art, culture, sport and all sorts of other things.

Mr Speaker, those opposite will also be aware that events such as the Telstra and ACT Government small business awards are sponsored by the Feel the Power campaign. The ACT and region exports awards are funded by Feel the Power, as are Canberra Day in Nara celebrations and sponsorship of the Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Peter Thompson, a Paralympic athlete, has recently been in Sweden, I think, for the world championships and did absolutely remarkably well. We should be extraordinarily proud of Peter and the work that he has done. He is certainly heading towards gold in Sydney; there is no doubt about that.

It is those sorts of programs, which I have to say I believe are very important to Canberra, that the Feel the Power campaign sponsors. If Mr Berry thinks they should all go, I have to say that I do not agree with him.

MR BERRY: I have a supplementary question. If you are so committed to this silly, second-hand slogan, Chief Minister, why did you not ask the Canberra residents whether or not they wanted it when Mr Smyth did his survey on motor vehicle registration plates? Why did you not ask them then, or were you not game?

MS CARNELL: Mr Berry, even after being briefed many times, or after being offered briefings - I suspect that he has not taken them, because he normally does not - still does not understand. Yes, Canberrans did not like Feel the Power on the numberplates, so we took it off; simple. Mr Speaker, Feel the Power is a campaign to attract businesses to Canberra; to change the view of businesses that Canberra is just a place for politicians

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