Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 11 Hansard (4 November) . . Page.. 3545 ..

MR STEFANIAK: I thank the member for the question. I might have got a gold medal in the games, Mr Hird, but I certainly did not have much success in the Melbourne Cup today.

Ms McRae: I picked the winner.

MR STEFANIAK: Well done, Roberta. As you quite correctly point out, Mr Hird, yes, the Masters Games were held in Canberra between 24 October and 1 November. They can be described only as a great success, both for sport and for our local economy. In all, the games attracted some 9,820 participants, with 7,230 coming from outside the ACT. That is a record. The total number of participants was also very close to our original estimate of 10,000, which was the maximum we were hoping for. Most of the visitors, of course, were from interstate. However, there were representatives from 26 overseas countries. The resultant value of any international word-of-mouth publicity, I think, can only be guessed at; but from the comments which I heard it can only be very good publicity. People came from New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Guam - about eight basketball teams came from Guam, I think - Japan, Canada, the USA, South Africa and Germany.

Conducting the games was a really huge organisational task; one example of the organisational pressures being the staging of approximately 3,600 separate events and the awarding of some 10,600 medals. Ernst and Young initially estimated, Mr Hird, that the economic impact on the economy of Canberra and the region would be in the vicinity of $17m. The anecdotal evidence to date certainly supports that. In fact, there is some expectation that the figure might even exceed that to a significant extent. Let us hope so. Certainly, it must be patently obvious that there were great numbers of masters athletes in town last week, with most spending dollars on accommodation, food, beverages, souvenirs, clothing, sporting goods, bandaids, bandages, liniments, massages and massage oils; in theatres and in other places of entertainment; and on innumerable other goods and services; probably on six packs and things like that, too. It was absolutely huge. Certainly, if Phillip District Oval and the rugby union were examples to go by, the amount of bandages and liniments used was huge indeed. The initiative of the special games shopping night was a great success, too. The Canberra Centre businesses reported really excellent trading there.

Mr Humphries: Mostly in bandages, liniments - - -

MR STEFANIAK: Yes, for some of the sports again. Fortunately, one of our local services was not stretched to the limit, and that was the service provided by Canberra's hospitals. I must say, Mr Speaker, that reflects brilliantly on the skills and expertise of the sports trainers, the masseurs and the masseuses, the St John Ambulance personnel, the sports medicine practitioners and, of course, the outstanding level of fitness of most of the competitors. I certainly would not say all.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .