Page 4067 - Week 13 - Thursday, 6 December 2007
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public education and, unlike those opposite, we believe that this money is not throwing good after bad. We support public education and we are backing that support with record levels of investment.
Sport and recreation—Tuggeranong facilities
MR SMYTH: My question is to the minister for sport and recreation. Work has commenced on a new gym in Tuggeranong, on the site sold by the LDA and purchased by the Club Group. It is adjacent to the existing Tuggeranong swimming pool. Does Belgravia Leisure, the current manager of the Tuggeranong swimming pool, pay a dividend to the government? If so, how much is that dividend? What modelling has been undertaken to establish whether the Tuggeranong swimming pool will continue to be able to pay a dividend after the completion of the Club Group’s new gym?
MR BARR: I thank Mr Smyth for the question. Yes, Belgravia does currently pay a dividend to the ACT government. I believe it is of the order of $80,000. I will have to double-check that figure, but I am reasonably sure that is the case.
There is an expectation that, as a result of the new facility opening and as part of the contract that the government has with Belgravia, we will have to make an assessment of the impact of that facility on the size of any dividend that Belgravia may pay to the ACT government. That work is currently underway. Of course, the new facility is not in full competition with the Lakeside Leisure Centre, as the range of services and facilities that are available at the Lakeside Leisure Centre are, in fact, much broader than what is proposed for the site opposite.
The government is investing and reinvesting in the Lakeside Leisure Centre. We made an announcement as part of this year’s budget for a complete refurbishment of that centre. It is important work. There is no doubt that that centre is starting to show its age and is in need of that refurbishment. I was very pleased, through this year’s budget, to be able to provide that money.
In relation to the size and the change in the dividends, we will have to make an assessment based upon the impact. At this stage, we can only assess the potential impact of a facility that does have some competitive elements with aspects of what is on offer at the Lakeside Leisure Centre. Once that information is available, it will, of course, feature in future budgets, and we will make that public at that time.
MR SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Smyth?
MR SMYTH: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Minister, what provisions exist in the management contract for the Tuggeranong swimming pool that require the ACT government to renegotiate the contract should the government act in any way to prejudice this pool’s profitability? What compensation is payable?
MR BARR: I do understand that in the contract there is provision for a negotiation of the extent of a dividend that is paid by the operator back to the government for the right to operate the facility on behalf of the territory. I do not, of course, have the
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