Craig Thomson (Dobell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My grievance is with the fact that the Central Coast surf-lifesaving movement has missed out on holding the national surf-lifesaving championships for the next three years. This of itself may not seem such a big issue, because it was a competitive tender, but we were the only surf-lifesaving area that tendered. As you would know, Mr Deputy Speaker Adams, in politics when it is a one-horse race you expect that horse to be the winner. But that was not the case with the bid from the Central Coast.

It was not that the bid did not meet the criteria. In fact, the President of Surf-Lifesaving Australia spoke about ‘the excellent bid put together by the consortium from the Central Coast’ which had ‘many natural advantages’. Unfortunately—and I am sure I will not have the member for Fadden onside but I may have some sympathy from the member for Paterson—it went to the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast, which did not even put in a bid for the surf-lifesaving championships, has been awarded them for another three years. This is an outrageous situation.

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