Page 527 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 15 February 2017
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(b) the ACT Government recognises in its own reports that the Mpowerdome has played a vital role in the pursuit of the objectives of Active Canberra, particularly in developing the ACT community’s physical activity levels from social through to high performance participation;
(c) the Mpowerdome has been a leading service provider in this field and has the capacity to develop into the future;
(d) the facility has not been operational for some months due to the parking constraints that exist around the facility; and
(e) that successive ACT Labor Governments have been aware of the issues but not provided any solutions to enable the business to continue to operate; and
(2) calls on the ACT Labor Government to take immediate action and work with the owners and managers to ensure that the Mpowerdome remains a viable contributor to the health and wellbeing of Canberrans.
The motion I bring to this place today is a simple one to consider. The solution to the problem outlined is also a simple one. The actions that need to be taken now are also very simple and easy to undertake with a bit of will and a bit of cooperation from all sides.
The mpowerdome is an iconic facility that would be well known to many in this room. You may have taken your children to play one of the many sports on offer there. You may have played tennis there yourselves, participated in one of the many team sports or perhaps even been involved in one of the community sports days or disability sports days which they have proudly hosted on many occasions. You may have utilised one of the school holiday programs on offer there or even attended, as I mentioned before, one of the Lord’s Taverners disability multisport days. If you have not, I will guarantee that at least one person you know has.
The mpowerdome is without question one of the most utilised and well known sporting facilities in the ACT region, particularly in the Tuggeranong region. Hundreds of thousands of people have been through this facility’s doors over the years, and numbers have not dwindled. The iconic dome that constitutes a big part of the facility has been around since 2006. The structure spans 36 metres by 156 metres and is 12 metres high; it is the largest facility of its kind in Australia.
On 9 April last year, the mpowerdome closed its doors for what many hoped was a short time. Many users understand and know very well the commitment that has been made by the managers of the facility, particularly Gail Aiken, the manager of the mpowerdome business since its beginning. I think an exception to that may have been you, Madam Speaker, who I understand called the operators in the lead-up to the ACT election unaware of this closure and seeking some explanation as to what had happened.
Ms Aiken, the operator of the mpowerdome, has been instrumental in forming a community around the users of the facility and has overseen the consistent swell of
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