Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

It is a testament to Aussie innovation that the creator of the magnificent Olympic flame and cauldron was thanks to South Australian company FCT Flames run by Con Manias. I also met Mr Manias whilst at the Austrade function I mentioned. For those of you who did not see it—I do not know how you would have missed it—the flame was made up of 204 smaller flames, each representing a nation taking part. It was totally different to any other cauldron that we have ever seen at the Olympic Games. It was a challenging structure to create and was widely acknowledged as being both elegant and beautiful, as well as being symbolically meaningful of the coming together of the 204 countries that participated. There were several others, of course. I met with Howard Croker from Croker Oars and Martin Schlegel from Advanced Polymer Technology, who made the blue hockey turf. I am yet to row the course at Eton Dorney and I will do that when I go back for the Paralympics.