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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 10 Hansard (12 October) . . Page.. 2959 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

Mr Speaker, there are a number of copies for members. For the first time in this place, I am deeply disappointed with the advice I have been given. Given the conflict in the advice, I took it upon myself to ring John Clyde, the CFMEU representative, to ask him to confirm his recollection, and he was able to confirm that he did in fact collect the samples on the 31st and that the subsequent meeting was on 6 September. I apologise for passing on incorrect information to the Assembly. As I stated this morning, I am responsible for the information provided, and I apologise for inadvertently misleading the Assembly on this matter. I informed Ms Tucker that I would be making this explanation, and she said that she would listen in her office.

MR MOORE (Minister for Health and Community Care): Mr Speaker, I seek leave to comment on the same matter.

Leave granted.

MR MOORE: In the debate, I reiterated the date that Mr Smyth, on the advice he had, mentioned. I apologise to the extent that I inadvertently misled the Assembly on the same matter.

MR STANHOPE: I would like to say I stand by everything I said in the debate on this morning's motion. Mr Speaker, my question is to the Chief Minister. Documents acquired by the Opposition under freedom of information legislation reveal the original requirement of the International Football Federation for Olympic soccer venue capacity to be 15,000 seats, the original capacity of Bruce Stadium. On 2 October the Canberra Times reported the Chief Minister's spokesperson as saying the stadium was to be upgraded to 25,000 seats, not to meet any SOCOG requirement but to meet a National Rugby League requirement. On what basis did the Chief Minister's spokesman make that statement? Can the Chief Minister table in the Assembly any documentation from the NRL, Mr Kevin Neil or the Canberra Raiders Football Club to support the need for Bruce Stadium to be upgraded to 25,000 seats to meet the requirements of the NRL or the Raiders?

MS CARNELL: It is certainly true that the minimum requirement for Olympic football from SOCOG is 15,000 seats. There is no doubt about that. That has always been the case. That is the minimum requirement. But we were not a walk-up start to get Olympic football in the ACT. We were competing with Newcastle, Wollongong and other venues. It would appear that Mr Stanhope did not really want to get Olympic soccer. With the minimum, we simply would not have been in the hunt.

The NRL requires 20,000 seats, not 25,000 as Mr Stanhope said. Members would have seen in reports over the last couple of months decisions to be taken on which rugby league teams stay in the competition next year. Issues surrounding venues and their seating capacity, including undercover seating, have been widely mentioned. I have read about them in the newspaper if Mr Stanhope has not.

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