Ms GRIERSON (12:06 PM) —Today I would like to draw the House's attention to an ongoing problem in Newcastle, but first I would like to say that in Parliament House we had the great pleasure of greeting and congratulating the Australian Rugby World Cup team. I certainly want to send my best wishes to Ben Darwin for a speedy recovery. We look forward to his returning to Newcastle to take up his studies. Although the Australian team came second and was not the final winner, the Australian economy certainly was. The Australian Trade Commission estimated the national economic impact of the event at between $800 million and $1 billion.

International sport is big business, and we know that. But we in Newcastle do not have an international standard football stadium, so we could not host and thus benefit from the world cup. That was not the case for other cities and towns around the country. Using research by Citigroup and the London FinancialTimes, I put forward the following estimates of how much each city and town in Australia gained from hosting the world cup: Sydney, 12 matches, $171 million; Gosford, an hour's drive from Newcastle, hosted three matches to the tune of a $43 million spin-off for that city; and the town of Launceston in Tasmania hosted one match, worth $16 million, and that is a conservative estimate. The sixth largest city in Australia, Newcastle, does not have an international standard football stadium and could not host even one match, yet one match at Launceston was worth $16 million. The economic spin-offs do come, and they are important. The city of Newcastle still has an unemployment rate, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, of 10 per cent. Our unemployment is not diminishing. Unemployment has diminished in the Upper Hunter, where mining has continued to flourish, but certainly young people's unemployment in Newcastle, where the rate is 27 per cent, remains critical.

We have been saying for too long that a stadium is not just about football; it is also about economic and employment benefits to the city of Newcastle, but for too long we have been ignored. I point to a speech made by Mr Baldwin, the member for Paterson, on 4 June 2002. He understood very well that sport related tourism was essential for the Newcastle and Hunter areas. He said in that speech that he was `disappointed' that the New South Wales Labor Party had walked away from the Energy Australia Stadium. I would point out that, three weeks after that speech, the state's Premier made a contribution of $23.6 million to the stadium. Newcastle and Hunter citizens have done their bit—18,000 to 20,000 of them attend Newcastle Knights football matches—and have certainly paid their dues towards a new stadium. Mr Baldwin suggested that the lack of funding for Energy Australia Stadium was one of his biggest disappointments. He said that because he knew that without adequate stadia we would not be able to host a world cup, and that would be a dreadful thing. It was a dreadful thing. Apparently he has no influence over the Prime Minister, otherwise the government would have contributed its share of money to the redevelopment of our stadium.

I have before me 10,000 signatures collected by the state members in the Hunter. I would mention John Bartlett, Bryce Gaudry, Kerry Hickey, Jeff Hunter, John Mills, Matthew Morris, Milton Orkopoulos and John Price and I thank them for their hard work in collecting those signatures. I am delighted to put those signatures forward on behalf of the other three Hunter members who are in the House—the member for Shortland, Jill Hall; the member for Charlton, Kelly Hoare; and the member for Hunter, Joel Fitzgibbon. The four of us have worked very hard and we demand to see some money soon, particularly as we know that the Prime Minister received an estimated boost of around two per cent in GDP for the December quarter to the economy, just from the World Cup. That is almost $1 billion spent in Australia that was not anticipated. It is a lovely boost to the economy. We would now like to see a lovely boost to Newcastle and the Hunter, and we would like to see the remaining cost of our stadium redevelopment funded.

Right now we are actually reconstructing that stadium with the money put forward by the New South Wales state government. We all look forward to and anticipate enjoying some cover that we have not had. I am a long-term football supporter and attendee, and I always take my plastic poncho with me. But we would love to have some cover and proper seating at our stadium. More importantly, we would love the opportunity to host international events and see our economy and employment flourish. It is time Mr Baldwin and his colleagues down here pressured the Prime Minister and made sure he put up his $20 million. Labor promised it at the last election and they stand by their commitment. We need that money ASAP. Bob Baldwin, member for Paterson, it is your turn now—get us that money so that we can enjoy the benefits of international sporting events and economic growth from sports related tourism. (Time expired)