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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 5 Hansard (9 May) . . Page.. 1435 ..

MS MacDONALD (continuing):

Owen Finegan, Jeremy Paul, Pat Howard, Sterling Mortlock, and many more, and you can see just how dominant Brumbies players have been in recent Wallabies teams.

The Brumbies style of football is now the benchmark for the Wallabies team and other Super 12 contenders. Brumbies fans fill Canberra Stadium game after game and we have some of the best facilities in the world. We have already shown we can host international rugby with ease.

Let us look at some of the facts and figures when it comes to the Brumbies crowds. The capacity of Canberra Stadium is around 26,500. That is comparable with Ballymore, home of the Queensland Reds and host of international rugby. The average crowds at Brumbies games over the last couple of years compare more than favourably with the other Australian provincial crowds. In 2000 the average crowd was 15,800 over nine games. The largest crowd was 27,449-a sellout for the final. In 2001 the average was a massive 21,100 people over eight games. Again, the largest crowd was 26,271 in another sellout for the final.

So far this year, 2002, the average has been 20,700 for six games to date. The largest crowd to date is 22,971 but I would wager that that figure will be broken tomorrow night when the Canberra public come out in force to see the Brumbies play Auckland and win their way into another final series. That is an average occupancy of more than 75 per cent-probably a lot higher when the refurbishment is taken into consideration. My point is that the Canberra public is supportive of their rugby in a superior way to their northern counterparts.

The Super 12 tournament has showcased our superb facilities. Canberra Stadium is world cup ready. If rumours are true about Adelaide playing host to a Wallaby game, then they will have to get in and make some marked improvements to get their facilities up to the standards that the Canberra Stadium offers. Even Brisbane is in panic mode. Their games will be hosted at Suncorp Metway Stadium (Lang Park) as opposed to the usual venue of Ballymore. Suncorp Stadium needs, and is getting, a major face lift to be ready for the world cup and will have a capacity of 52,000 fans. That is fair enough, but my point is that Canberra is ready now. Stadium Australia holds 80,000 and Aussie Stadium about 40,000. Admittedly both are bigger than Canberra Stadium but we are comparing a city of 320,000 people to a city of four million people.

The emotion of this matter of public importance revolves around the Brumbies being the only Australian team to have won a Super 12 championship. They are, in fact, the only Australian team to have played in a final. My other point is that Canberra is home to one of the three Super 12 teams. It seems, therefore, ridiculous that the supportive Canberra public is being asked to forgo a Wallaby game when Adelaide is being considered as a host. As the national capital, Canberra can be a showcase to the rugby world.

I want to now outline some of the reasons that go beyond that initial emotion. The AIS in Canberra is home to Australia's and, indeed, many of the world's elite athletes. It would seem to show a lack of faith in such facilities and institutions if Australia's elite rugby players were not to play here. The AIS has produced world record holders, world champion teams and individuals. The ARU and the Australian and Canberra public should be supportive of the chance to showcase our facilities and programs at the AIS and continue to build and expand the success to date.

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