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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 12 Hansard (13 November) . . Page.. 3514 ..

MR HARGREAVES (continuing):

Sydney, Albury and anywhere in the middle to a community festival in Tuggeranong, I think we need to have the expert tourism people exploiting that kind of concept.

I mentioned some of the sports that went on during the festival-fishing, tennis, soccer, lawn bowls, cycling, AFL, sailing, rowing, tae kwon do, callisthenics, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, netball and basketball. If you look at that lot, all taking place over a two-day period, imagine how many people were participating under the umbrella of the festival, coming together just to do that. Entertainment is provided by big name bands, such as Mental As Anything. I think they are trying to get Men At Work next year. You can take your esky, sit on the grass and listen to a band of that calibre for absolutely nothing. As well as entertaining the crowds, such attractions are a vehicle for our local talent to show themselves off. Mental As Anything brought them along and then we showed off the local talent through the choirs and a lot of the orchestral and band music.

Mr Speaker, I spoke about fishing. The carp catch has a double-barrelled reason for its existence. It is a bit of fun for the people who go fishing. Let me say, on behalf of my foot, that it is not always a lot of fun when one goes fishing! However, the carp catch is all about trying to reduce the number of carp in Lake Tuggeranong, and tonnes of them are caught. The community can help out in that way as it has an environmental aspect to it. That is something on which Dr Brian Pratt was congratulating the festival not very long ago.

Mr Speaker, there has been a multicultural aspect to the festival over the last few years through the provision of music, food and dance. Some new groups came and joined us this year and I pay credit to them for that. Members of the Sri Lankan community came along, as did Vietnamese and Nepalese people, and there was involvement by the Scottish community through some Celtic work and some involvement with the Irish people as well.

Mr Speaker, there was something there for young people. There was an extreme sports afternoon at the skate park. It was unbelievable to see young kids trying to injure themselves really badly and not do so. I tried harder than they did, obviously, but they really gave it a good hit. We had rap music down there. I think it is terrible stuff, quite frankly, but some people thought it was great. For the first time, we had stacks of kids actually listening to their own music in their own spot and all the old fogies could go somewhere else and listen to their band, choir or whatever. The kids had a great time and it cost them nothing. We put on youth group activities so that the young garage bands could have a go.

I have to acknowledge two other activities which have been the mainstay of the festival for some time. One of them is going to surprise you, I am sure. I need to pay tribute to Terry Flaherty, who brings the sideshows to the festival every year and has done so since I have been connected with it, which is about 13 or 14 years. He is there rain, hail or shine, mainly rain and hail and usually windy. He doesn't always make a quid, but he always comes and he has been a mainstay. He was there again this year and he appeared to take a big hit.

Mr Speaker, everybody looks forward to the fireworks. Harold Upton, who provided the fireworks at the festival-in the sky, this time-is probably the best pyrotechnician in town when it comes to putting fireworks in the sky. I will oppose to my dying breath

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