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Rugby World Cup

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Subjects -  Football; Central Coast; Sport and Recreation; Festivals; Clubs; Tax: Poker Machines; Tourist Industry
Speakers - Armstrong Mr Ian; McBride Mr Grant
Business - Matter of Public Importance


    RUGBY WORLD CUP
Page: 3922


    Matter of Public Importance

    [Discussion resumed.]

    Mr IAN ARMSTRONG (Lachlan) [4.57 p.m.]: I thank the Minister for providing me with this opportunity to speak on this matter of public importance. There is no doubt that the Rugby World Cup in Australia is a coup for Australia and for world rugby because there is not another country in the world today that could do it better in 2003 than Australia. It is better in terms of friendship. It is a great supporting nation with facilities right across the nation from the west coast to the east coast, from the north to the south and from the smaller regions right through to major cities. Australia is also better in terms of security and it has the confidence of the world that it is a friendly nation. Yesterday by way of notice of motion I congratulated the organisers, that is, the president and the chief executive officer of Australian rugby, the committee, the staff and indeed those who formed the initial idea to hold the cup in Australia. It is a great credit to this country that the original idea of a World Rugby Cup came from Australian rugby. Australia is one of the greatest rugby nations.

    Other honourable members have spoken of the game held in Gosford last weekend between Ireland and Romania, a game won convincingly by Ireland. I am told that it was a very good game in which all the styles and skills of good rugby were used. I have seen photographs of the front row of Ireland's team and the hooker is a fierce looking character. Good on the Romanians for doing their very best. I understand there was only one very small glitch in the whole process. There was a hold-up in ticketing and probably a quarter of those attending did not see the kick-off at the Gosford match. Apart from that, I am told it ran like a well-oiled machine. I congratulate the ground curators and managers on the appearance of the ground. Not a blade of grass was out of place and it was as green as Ireland. On television, it looked excellent.

    On a broader perspective, this competition excites the world. As I said yesterday, and as the Minister repeated today, four billion households throughout the globe, including Europe, Asia and the Americas, will be watching this third-biggest sporting event in the world this year. That is a big accolade. What an opportunity for showcasing. If you were selling a brand of soap and you could get four billion people to associate your product with this event, you would be pretty happy. We are selling Australia to those four billion people, and it is disappointing that Tourism New South Wales does not appear to have in place any programs or to be showing any imagination about attracting further tourism and investment in New South Wales, particularly with regard to tourism after the cup.

    The success of these sorts of events worldwide comes, first, from playing the game well and fairly and getting a good result. But, secondly, as with the soccer World Cup in recent times and the Olympic Games in Sydney, Atlanta, Barcelona and Los Angeles, cities that put in place programs to entice tourism following their hosting of those events did remarkably well. Barcelona had a 10 per cent compounding growth in tourism for the four years after its Games. That 40 per cent growth was compounded by a factor of ten each year. Even Atlanta—to be frank, a quite plain industrial city—enjoyed a considerable tourist boost and a mini boom. Augusta, one of the world's best golf courses, has been host to nearly all of the major Professional Golfers Association and Ladies Professional Golfers Association tournaments in the United States of America since the Atlanta Olympics.
    Whether because of September 11 or other factors, Sydney has not experienced that boost. I hope the Government recognises that it is not too late yet. We have another month of rugby in Australia, and it is not too late to get out there with a program that says to the world: We are great sportspeople, we want to have you here, we have accommodation, we have the facilities, our economy is fine, our food is great, we like visitors, we welcome you with open arms. My message this afternoon is: Well done rugby, well done to Gosford, the local people and those who work there. May the people of the world come here to see more of Australia.

    Mr GRANT McBRIDE (The Entrance—Minister for Gaming and Racing) [5.02 p.m.], in reply: All who listened to the comments of the honourable member for Lachlan would have contrasted the quality of his contribution with the paucity of that of the honourable member for Gosford and wonder why the honourable member for Lachlan is not Leader of the Nationals. People who love rugby and sport in general have really appreciated the fact that the Rugby World Cup is being played in Australia. The less I say about the contribution of the honourable member for Gosford the better, but, like I am sure any member or any staff of this Parliament who support sport, I was disappointed by the comments of the honourable member for Gosford. His remarks detracted from the effort of the people of the Central Coast. As a member who has represented the Central Coast since 1988, I thought the contribution of the honourable member for Gosford reflected poorly on him.

    My colleague the honourable member for Peats was at the opening of the Rugby World Cup game on the Central Coast. Hers was a wonderful experience. The Rugby World Cup is more than just a game: it is about building our communities. There was a glitch in ticketing and passing through the turnstile before the game. I was one of those in the queue who did not get to see the kick-off. I was standing in the queue like everyone else—not in the VIP queue, but in the queue for public tickets. The good humour of the crowd outside the stadium was unbelievable. It was fun just being there. There was a sense of bonhomie, camaraderie or however one would describe that demonstration of community spirit on the Central Coast.

    The honourable member for Lachlan was absolutely spot on in his comments about the stadium. It was superb. The turf and grounds were magnificent. It was a wonderful sight against the backdrop of Brisbane Water. Members who have the opportunity should attend a game at this Central Coast venue. Anyone in the four billion households in countries throughout the world who viewed this event could only be impressed, not just with the Central Coast but with the quality of facilities that Australia has. This is a venue of natural beauty unparalleled in the world. About two-thirds of those in the stadium were wearing Irish jumpers, indicating they may have been supporting the Irish team, but when the ground announcer asked who was supporting Romania the whole stadium jumped to their feet. And when he asked who was supporting Ireland, again the whole of the stadium jumped to their feet. That was the atmosphere. Maybe half or more of those in the stadium were from the Central Coast.

    Last night the ambience was again magnificent, with perhaps even a larger proportion of the crowd being from the Central Coast. The Argentinean supporters were there, and the support for the Namibian team was fantastic. One would have thought that this South African team was playing on its home ground, such was the support in the stadium. Some of the comments made so far in this debate have missed the point that this event is all about generating goodwill in the community. It is about Australians being Australians and displaying their characteristics. There was not one boo from the crowd. They cheered. If one side did something good, they cheered. If the other side made a good move, they cheered. There was universal goodwill. One of the great aspects of sport is that it creates goodwill among communities. People from all over the world were in Australia to promote the building of goodwill and witness the demonstration to the world of the Australian spirit.

    Discussion concluded.


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