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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 8 Hansard (9 August) . . Page.. 2694 ..

GMC400 Canberra-8-10 June 2001-key results

Paper and statement by minister

MR SMYTH (Minister for Urban Services, Minister for Business, Tourism and the Arts and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (4.00): For the information of members, I present the following paper:

GMC 400 Canberra, 8-10 June 2001-Key results, prepared by Canberra Tourism & Events Corporation, dated August 2001.

I ask for leave to make a statement.

Leave granted.

MR SMYTH: The GMC400 is round five of the Shell championship series for V8 supercars, held annually in Canberra on the June long weekend. In October 1999, the ACT Legislative Assembly voted to bring the event to the nation's capital and appropriated $4.5 million for capital works and $2.5 million for recurrent expenditure over five years to operate the event. The Canberra Tourism and Events Corporation was given the responsibility of delivering the GMC400. Plans were approved by the National Capital Authority and the federal government, and the inaugural event took place from 9 to 11 June 2000.

The inaugural GMC400 was a great success. Much was learned from staging the first event and various track improvements were considered necessary to enhance spectator enjoyment and to provide a safer, smoother circuit for drivers. The government approved additional funds of $1.5 million per year to improve the event infrastructure and to meet standards set by the approval authorities. As a result, annual ACT government investment in the GMC400 is $4 million per year.

Over the five-year commitment to the event, the ACT government has allocated a total budget of $23 million. In addition, the event raises revenue from sponsorship, corporate sales, licensing of on-site vendors, and ticket sales. The GMC400 generates significant economic benefits for Canberra and the surrounding region. Looking at the two-year average for the event, we can say that the economic benefit will be in the order of $60 million over five years.

Key results of the GMC400 in 2000 and 2001 indicate that the GMC400 is a valuable addition to the mix of activities that attract tourists to Canberra, and it adds diversity to a calendar of events for the local community. To evaluate the GMC400, CTEC commissioned independent reports from the Centre for Tourism Research, Sponsorship Information Services, International Management Group and Ticketek. These reports contain the key results I am tabling today. Also, the answer to Mr Kaine's question on notice can be found on page 5 of the document GMC400, Key Results. These figures have only just been compiled.

Attendance at this year's event was 101,000 people, down from 109,000 in the first year of the event. As for the 2000 attendance, this figure counts everyone who attended the event-spectators, corporates, sponsors, children and accredited pass holders, such as officials, media, teams, volunteers and emergency services. Mr Deputy Speaker, 34.1 per

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