Mr CADMAN —My question is addressed to the Minister for Sport and Tourism. What role is the federal government playing to ensure the outstanding success of the Olympic Games?

Miss JACKIE KELLY (Sport and Tourism; Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Sydney 2000 Games) —May I thank the honourable member for his interest in the Olympics given that his electorate is in Sydney, which is going to be the town that hosts the Olympics in the year 2000.

Mr Melham —Town? It's a city.

Miss JACKIE KELLY —Let us not say that it is New South Wales's Games; let us make it Australia's Games. We are looking at the Olympics as being perceived throughout the world as the Olympics down under. We look forward to television images going around the world of Australia as a beautiful, tolerant and sporting nation.

The federal government is contributing $460 million and is involving 30 different agencies such as Customs, the Australian Mint in the production of a coin program, the weather forecasting for the yachting program, Immigration and our own security forces in the defence forces. At the same time, we are using the Games to promote Australia and Australian tourism, which is of immense importance to me. We are seeing 1.6 million extra tourists coming to Australia because of the Olympic Games. It is an opportunity to showcase our nation to the world and to benefit from that in a financial fashion.

Last year the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Trade and sports minister at the time, Warwick Smith, launched the `Australia—Open for Business' initiative, principally using the Games to boost exports and inward investment. We are a partner with Telstra, Westpac and the New South Wales Department of State and Regional Development in order to capitalise on the investment opportunities coming from the Olympics. We are looking at spreading all of the benefits available from the Games right across Australia so that all states and all parts of Australia benefit from the games that will be held in Sydney but that will be remembered as `Australia's Games'.