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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 7 Hansard (2 July) . . Page.. 2238 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

I turn to some of some of the comments that Mr Quinlan made in relation to sport. He was rattling on about sums of $500,000 and $490,000. I merely refer him to the Government's response to the Estimates Committee report in relation to that, which quite clearly explains the situation. We do agree, I think, that some of the figures appearing in the budget were a bit confusing. That is something that can be sorted out, but the explanation is given there. The bottom line in terms of any general cut to sport is that $100,000 was taken from the academy. In terms of the reduction from 340 positions to 290 positions, I think that about three programs were affected there. They were programs that, I understand, would have been axed by the academy anyway because they simply were not performing. The academy services much more than just 340 athletes. It has 290, I think, on specific programs and it services quite a number of others on specific things. But there were a number of programs which were not performing - programs which national programs had superseded or ones which the academy simply was not getting what it wanted out of them. Accordingly, it was quite easy to do that. That is something that would have occurred anyway. Yes, that $100,000 is a cut, but that is the only cut and it is something that I think the academy can manage.

I must say in relation to the sport budget that, certainly over the last four years, the Bureau of Sport and Recreation has achieved some very significant efficiencies in how it runs its operation. It is now a very efficient organisation and operation. I think it is important for us to continue to monitor what we do spend in terms of mass participation sport. New areas are developing. Eventually, we will have some new ovals coming on board and they are expensive items. That is certainly something of which I think we need to be mindful. In years to come there may well be a need to increase some part of that budget there.

I might say, however, in answer to the points that Mr Quinlan made in relation to neglecting mass participation sport that the most recent ABS figures show, again, that we have the greatest participation rate in the country for adults, some 71 per cent, I think, of adult males - I think adult males are those 15 years of age and over - and 56 per cent of females. That is well over 10 per cent in each category more than the next closest State or Territory. That is a very significant achievement. Indeed, we still seem to go up consistently and outpace our nearest rivals. I think that is something that is so terribly important, especially for the health and wellbeing of our community. It certainly does represent a very vibrant mass participation sporting sector.

Yes, Mr Kaine, it is a lot of money that we spend on education; you are quite right. It is close to a third of the total budget. Some of that is on sport. Mr Kaine mentioned that about 10 per cent of it was on Bruce Stadium. That is actually in the Chief Minister's Department. As you can see from the supplementary Appropriation Bill, the increases for Bruce Stadium come under the Chief Minister's Department. They come under the business section, if I am not mistaken, of that area. They are not actually in Education and Community Services, which includes the sport budget. I do not think you will find them there.

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