Page 1177 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 March 2013
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(f) that Sport and Recreation Services will work to progress this facility without any disruption to the winter football season and Capital Football, who also use this venue; and
(g) that the Minister for Sport and Recreation is already meeting with Little Athletics, Athletics ACT and Masters Athletics to discuss this facility further; and
(2) calls on the Government to continue to work with Little Athletics, Athletics ACT and Master Athletics to progress this facility.”.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (5.44): This motion is one where there seem to be two quite different stories going on, and there are probably three or four versions. One must try and pick one’s way through in order to come to a conclusion on this.
Mr Barr has just talked extensively about the scope of the project, and I think at the end of the day it is trying to think about what we are trying to achieve with this project. We obviously already have a very high quality track at the Australian Institute of Sport. It is one that has seating capacity; it does get semi-regular use by the community. We saw the relay for life taking place there on the weekend, which was a tremendous event. It is also one that local athletes in Canberra at times have difficulty accessing, because its predominant use is for the Australian Institute of Sport. So then the question becomes: if we are to build another track, what is the purpose of that? Clearly, what we are seeking to do there is provide a facility for local Canberra athletes. I am interested that Mr Doszpot has talked about the possibility of holding grand prix meets there—various IAAF type events, those sorts of events, major competitions.
The question in my mind, having listened to the debate, is: is that really what we need to achieve given that we already have that capability at the Australian Institute of Sport? That is the question that occurred to me in listening to the debate. I am not sure that we need to replicate that facility. What we are actually trying to do is provide a facility that is an alternative for the local clubs to be able to use and to get around difficulties of accessing the Institute of Sport at times.
Mr Doszpot: You are actually quite right there. You are.
MR RATTENBURY: Yes. That is what we are trying to achieve. We are trying to achieve a local facility. What appears to be the back story here is the question of whether we should be going to, say, Stromlo or whether we should upgrade an existing facility. That is a debate that is out there to be had.
Mr Barr has made the case about the potential cost at Stromlo and whether it is the right site. For me, reflecting on it and thinking just about the geography of the city—Stromlo is not that far from the Institute of Sport. Particularly once John Gorton Drive gets completed, you will see two tracks five, eight or 10 kilometres apart. Going through the south, you start to provide a track much more on either side of the city. These are my intuitive reactions after having a think about this discussion.
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