Page 1871 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 5 May 2009
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Madam Assistant Speaker, I am sure you will also be interested to know that, as part of their responsibilities at Manuka Oval and at Canberra Stadium, Territory Venues and Events are responsible for around $5 million in capital works and upgrades at these venues this financial year. These works include constructing a new public address system and refurbishing the west lounge at Canberra Stadium. There are also upgrades to fire and emergency systems at the stadium.
To ensure the safety of Canberrans and visitors, TVE have installed an improved CCTV system at both Canberra Stadium and Manuka Oval. At Stromlo Forest Park, TVE have overseen works including a new access road to the bushfire memorial as well as a car park and ongoing vegetation and landscape works.
The professional management team at TVE have seen the ACT also attract a number of major events to Canberra due to the quality of these facilities and the quality of their management. This success in attracting major fixtures also demonstrates that the TVE team are highly experienced in the specialised area of negotiating with the proponents of national and international events. Their professionalism in this area has helped the ACT achieve first-rate fixtures including a Socceroos match, the Matildas and the Wallabies this year. An A league team is for the first time a real possibility, in part because of the facilities we have and the way that TVE manage them.
We have had national and world cup biking championships also brought to the territory. Last year Stromlo Forest Park was host to the Scott 24-hour mountain bike race, the world’s largest 24-hour mountain bike event. This event drew elite riders to Canberra as well as international competitors from England, New Zealand, the US, Canada, Germany and the Czech Republic.
Stromlo Forest Park has also hosted the 2008 world mountain bike cup as a prelude to the 2009 world mountain bike championships. These championships are expected to attract around 750 of the world’s top riders and around 30,000 visitors from about 40 countries. It is set to generate positive media for Canberra around the globe and it is a boon for our tourism industry in these difficult times.
Recently I announced that Canberra will host the Australian masters road cycling championships for 2009, again because of the quality of the venues and the professionalism of the team at Territory Venues and Events. That is why the professional team at TVE should be rewarded for their outstanding work, the outstanding management that they have shown of these venues. The calibre of specialist experience that they have, if it was extended to Exhibition Park Corporation, would see that venue make an even greater contribution to the territory.
We do have a vision for the future of EPIC, which includes the development of low-cost accommodation. This is something that ACT tourism operators are telling me they want. Through the master planning process that is underway at Manuka and Canberra Stadium, it is clear that TVE has the vision for the future of these venues and would be well placed to extend that vision to Exhibition Park.
From the well-advanced plans that Territory Venues and Events have for low-cost accommodation at Stromlo Forest Park, it is clear that EPIC would benefit from their
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