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

The member for Paterson would have some sympathy knowing that from the area of his electorate down to Wollongong there are more active surf-lifesavers than in the rest of Australia. So, quite clearly, the area that the member for Paterson and I come from is one that deserved to hold the surf-lifesaving championships. Let me say I am not speaking against Queensland. I have a particular fondness for prime ministers, treasurers and governors-general who come from Queensland. But when it comes to the merits of this issue and the right that should have been done, the Central Coast has been dudded.

The Central Coast, as well as being one of the most beautiful areas in Australia, has the most beautiful beaches in Australia. With those beaches we have a very strong beach culture and the surf-lifesaving movement has flourished on the Central Coast. We have 14 very proud clubs that have served the Central Coast since the 19th century. We have some very historic surf-lifesaving clubs, including the one at The Entrance, which I am a member of. People have been coming to The Entrance to swim since the mid- to late 1800s. It is an area that has a long tradition in surf-lifesaving. In fact, Soldiers Beach, which is at Norah Head in my electorate, was where the use of rubber duckies in surf-lifesaving was first developed. So it has a long history not only of surf-lifesaving but also of innovate measures being adopted by surf-lifesaving clubs, which have been to the benefit—dare I say—of even surf-lifesavers on the Gold Coast. Here we have an area with a great, innovative tradition in surf-lifesaving, which has given things to the rest of the surf-lifesaving movement and which has been dudded.

These 14 clubs are more than just sporting and social areas for residents of the Central Coast; they are part of the fabric of society on the Central Coast. From a very early age, young boys and girls join the nippers. They are down there learning water safety with their parents, who are making sure their kids develop proper water skills so that they do not get into difficulty when they are swimming. Because we have had that long history of surf-lifesaving on the Central Coast, almost all families are in some way connected to a particular club. It is something that pervades the culture we have there.

It was with a great deal of optimism that we were able to put together a consortium of interested parties to try and bid for the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships from 2010 to 2012. In fact, we were able to bring together two councils which do not see eye to eye on almost any issue. They both backed a single bid for a single beach, which happened to be in my electorate. Local people said to me: ‘Well, this is almost historic in that we’ve got the two councils to agree on something! Surely we can’t lose this bid.’ We were also able to have the New South Wales Business Chamber and the Central Coast Tourism board as part of the consortium, and Events New South Wales agreed to underwrite the bid. So there was no question that the money would be available for this bid to go forward and there was no question about our having the community and all the community organisations that are so integral to surf-lifesaving and tourism on the Central Coast behind this bid.

I must say that we got a little bit too optimistic when we found out that we were the only bid, and so we are incredibly disappointed that we have missed out on these particular championships. A great deal of credit for putting the bid together has to go to Chad Griffiths—and I am sure he is absolutely shattered—from the Central Coast surf-lifesaving movement who worked tirelessly to put this bid together to make sure that we would meet the technical requirements that Surf Life Saving Australia would put on our bid.

The importance of winning the bid for the national championships cannot be understated. In Dobell, for instance, we have unemployment at 7.4 per cent. Our industries that employ the most people are retail, followed by tourism, and this was going to be a huge shot in the arm for tourism on the Central Coast and provide jobs. And, because it was for three years, it was going to provide ongoing infrastructure. The council had agreed to a range of works that they would undertake in relation to making sure that it worked properly. We were able to meet the criteria of having 30,000 beds available—because the championships are remarkably large: they attract around 7,500 competitors, which makes them the biggest multidiscipline event in the world. Just by way of comparison, the Melbourne Commonwealth Games only attracted 4,500 athletes. In addition to the athletes, it is estimated that you have 8,000 families and supporters and 1,000 officials, and over the six days of competition it is estimated that 100,000 people turn up to the championships, with the crowds on the championship day, Sunday, in the region of 30,000 to 40,000.

In terms of money that the championships would have brought to the area, it is estimated that they bring between $15 million and $30 million to the local economy. The Aussies, as the championships are called in surf-lifesaving, were in Perth for the last few years, and they brought in $25 million to the economy. So $30 million to the Central Coast economy is something that we really could have done with. It would have been a real shot in the arm for tourism, helping to further develop tourism, and that would have had a benefit for all tourists, who are always trying to come to the Central Coast because it is such a beautiful place to visit.

There also would have been some environmental benefits. There had been some damage to sand dunes in the areas caused by erosion, and there were also some areas that needed to be revegetated. All of that was going to be restored to a pristine condition as part of this bid.

On behalf of the Central Coast community, can I say that we are very disappointed in Surf Life Saving Australia. They did not sit down and explain to us why our bid, the only bid, was not successful, when it met their criteria. We will try to get them to do that and work it out, but it is disappointing for the community that the great Central Coast, with its great surfing tradition, has missed out on something it should have had: the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships between 2010 and 2012.

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