Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a shame. It is one of those aspirational situations which, I suspect, will never come to fruition. This year the event again attracted some 3,000 competitors from those who are keen to take part in an exciting community event through to those professionals who live for the race and the spoils of victory. The lead-up to this year’s triathlon was one of most uncertain in the in the event’s 14-year history. The presence of Cyclone Wati off the Queensland coast had whipped up big seas and there was concern for the safety of competitors during the swim leg. Organisers instead decided to move the swim leg into the nearby Mooloolah River ensuring that it could all go ahead as planned without undue worry about the weather.

As it turned out, as is mostly the case in Queensland, the sun came out and the event was held on a glorious day. Media reports suggest that some 15,000 people came and lined the streets of Mooloolaba to watch the event. In fact the congestion was so bad it was difficult to get from some parts of the central Sunshine Coast to other parts of the coast. Many people were able to enjoy the coffee shops and restaurants along the esplanade and we, on the Sunshine Coast, are now privileged to have al fresco dining in so many areas. The restaurants and coffee shops are located adjacent to what is undoubtedly one of the best beaches in Australia.

The event itself is always very entertaining and this year’s event was no exception. The winner of the men’s race was New Zealand athlete Bevan Docherty, who had won a silver medal in the triathlon at Commonwealth Games in Melbourne just over a week before. After the race, Docherty admitted that he had felt like giving up midway through but his competitive edge drove him forward to victory. The women’s winner was Australia’s Annabel Luxford, who had also competed in the Commonwealth Games where she had finished fifth, a position that she herself was disappointed in. But her disappointment at the games was soon overshadowed by her wonderful win at Mooloolaba. As a result of her victory, she is now ranked No. 1 in the world. Both the winners took away $14,000 in prize money and Mooloolaba itself took away that sense of honour and pride when communities work together to stage a successful event. Organiser, Garth Proud of United Sports Marketing, should once again be congratulated, along with his team, for putting together such a world-class sports spectacular. The Mooloolaba triathlon delivers a massive windfall to the local tourism economy. It delivers a second time over through the worldwide broadcast of the event and the region on television. So many people in different parts of the world see the wonderful attractions that the Sunshine Coast has to offer and hopefully many people will come to our area as tourists when they get the opportunity.

I am very proud to be part of a community that so strongly supports its tourism industry. This is an industry that depends on visitors from Brisbane, which is just about an hour’s drive from the south, from interstate and from overseas. Figures from the hard-working Tourism Sunshine Coast organisation indicate that annual domestic visitors increased from around 2.5 million in June 2004 to 2.8 million in June last year. This is a rise of more than nine per cent. That is quite an outstanding result for the Sunshine Coast. Also, international visitors to the Sunshine Coast region increased from just under 230,000 in mid-2004 to almost 250,000 by June last year. This is an increase of some eight per cent.

I would like to see more of the international visitors who come to Queensland come to the Sunshine Coast. I do not think we are currently getting our fair share of the international market and we hope that that will improve in the future. There has been an increase of some 18,386 international visitors over that two-year period, which is a testament to Tourism Sunshine Coast and to the very many other tourism organisations in the area. The international visitors come mainly from New Zealand, with 34 per cent; athletes from New Zealand also make up a considerable proportion of entrants in the triathlon each year. The United Kingdom produces 23 per cent of local international visitors and Europe 17 per cent. Sporting events like the Mooloolaba triathlon that get international media coverage can only help to spread the word about the fantastic tourist attractions that the Sunshine Coast region has to offer. And I am anticipating more good things for tourism in my electorate and in the more general Sunshine Coast area in the months ahead.

Good things continue to come for the latest major tourist attraction to come to the Sunshine Coast, the ex HMAS Brisbane, which was sunk as a dive wreck last July off the Mooloolaba area. Very early on, dive operators reported a very high demand for visits to the vessel. Between 10,000 and 15,000 scuba tourists were initially expected to visit the wreck each year, and these figures have proven so far to be quite accurate. Two of the dive operators in my electorate are among those granted licences to make trips to the wreck. They are Mooloolaba based Sunreef Scuba Diving Services, owned by Greg Riddell and Paul White, and Scuba World, owned by Ian McKinnon. Again I pay tribute to the wonderful role played by these two businesses in helping to have the dive wreck sunk off the Sunshine Coast. They have reported that around 1,000 dive tourists visited the wreck each month during summer. Even though, in the colder months that have come, the number of visitors to the wreck has reduced somewhat, it is still around 800 per month. The spin-offs for the economy are expected to be around $40 million each year. I am particularly proud to have played a role in securing the vessel for the Sunshine Coast. It is, I am sure you would agree with me, Mr Deputy Speaker, a great privilege to serve the Sunshine Coast in the parliament of Australia.

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