Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for the Arts and Sport) Share this | Hansard source

I thank my colleague Senator McGauran for that very important question. I will say it in just a few words: as the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Games said, Melbourne was ‘simply the best’. There is no question that the 2006 games were a great sporting event with many world-class performances. In particular, I am sure I speak for all senators in congratulating the Australian team for their performance and for being on top of the medal table. They demonstrated the breadth and depth of our sporting talent across a very wide range of Commonwealth Games sports.

What a record of achievement the games had: 1.6 million tickets were sold, the games were seen by a TV audience of over one billion people, 15,000 volunteers made the games a huge success and those who followed the Queen’s Baton Relay will note that it was the world’s longest and most inclusive relay.

The success of the 2006 Commonwealth Games was due to the skills and hard work of many Australians over a very long period of time. I would like to congratulate the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Corporation for organising what was a first-rate sporting event. Ron Walker—a great friend, I might say, of the Bracks government, Stephen Conroy; the Bracks government were very pleased to keep Ron Walker in that job, and rightly so—and his team can be extremely proud of the games and the team he led. The Australian government has been very pleased to work in partnership with the Victorian government and the M2006 Corporation and contribute to the success of these games.

As was the case in Sydney, the heroes of these games were often the volunteers, who demonstrated a sporting spirit in giving their time and skills so generously. It was a selfless band of, as I mentioned, some 15,000 people. They really helped make the games a success. That shows you how important volunteers are to running a top class sporting event.

I would like to congratulate all our competitors for the very courageous performances that they put in. I congratulate the Australian Sports Commission for the important role that they, through their grants program through the AIS, played in helping to prepare the Commonwealth Games team. We can all be proud of the Australian medal haul of 221, including 84 gold. We can also be very proud of the way our athletes represented themselves and Australia with dignity, dedication and sportsmanship. By any measure, the 2006 Commonwealth Games were a great success. We can look forward, I believe, with confidence to future Australian sporting success.

International competition, as we all know, is getting stronger and stronger. We must be prepared to invest to maintain our level of high performance. I can convey to the Senate that the Melbourne Commonwealth Games were a spectacular success and a great credit to the city, to Victoria and to Australia.