Page 3412 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 20 September 2005
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A number of people were exhibiting for the first time. I spoke to a few people for whom it is a very brave move to put your work out there. But the issue that was raised with me by some members is that for 15 years the Artists Society has been looking for a place of its own. Many community groups lack such a place. They would like a place where they could have a studio, run classes and so on.
They did have a place for a while. They were paying $24,000 a year at the Canberra Technology Centre. That $24,000 a year entitled them to one classroom and access to the lift. One member made a particular point of telling me that that lift was so unsafe that the cleaners in the place will not use it and that a number of their more elderly members have been trapped in it. Something it does fairly frequently, I gather, is stop between floors. It is one of those old lifts that probably require a treadle to operate—no, I am only joking, but it is one of those old ones where you can see where you are going. And that can be scary in itself. In this case the scary thing is the thing does not work properly. I draw that to your attention.
So $24,000 a year and an unsafe lift led to the Artists Society of Canberra vacating those premises. Again they are homeless and would seek the goodwill of the government which, I am sure, they have approached a number of times to assist them to find suitable premises with access for the elderly and people who might have a disability that makes a set of stairs difficult for them.
However, that is a negative side. Nonetheless, hundreds of the 340 members work on wherever they can. I think that we can all be very proud of the work that they have done.
Dana Cup—youth football
MR SMYTH (Brindabella—Leader of the Opposition) (6.18): This evening I wish to bring to the attention of members and of the entire Canberra community the efforts of one of our local under-14 girls soccer teams who recently made a journey to Denmark to compete in the Dana Cup. They are the Woden Valley football club the Globetrotters.
The names of the team members are—and I think it is important to put their names on the record—Edith Scrafton-Savage, Jessica White, Sophie Kochinos, Maddy Beard, Christine Walters, Ellie Hollis, Rachel Fearn, Ellie Raymond, Megan Taylor, Maxine Lake, Monique Solar, Becky Kiting, Ellie Crossman and Jill Raymond. Their coach was an ex-Matilda, Pieta-Claire Hepperlin. Their manager was also an ex-Matilda, Rachel Harrigan. Both had represented Australia at the Olympics and at the World Cup.
Thanks to the efforts of a couple of parents who decided that it would be worth going to Denmark and the support of the community, the group raised $60,000 towards funding the tour. The fundraising included more than 30 sausage sizzles, the sale of 22,000 Krispy Kreme Donuts, 7,000 raffle tickets, an interclub tournament, a trivia night and a fundraising dinner—just to mention a few of the efforts undertaken.
On their way to Denmark, the team stopped in Shanghai where they played the Shanghai sports academy. Unfortunately, they went down 4-1. From reports of the game, Shanghai may never be the same again, due to the cheering from the Australian supporters.
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