Parliamentary Speeches
Interview, Minister for Sport, Kate Ellis is interviewed by Triple J about the Beijing Olympics and kids playing sport
15 Aug 2008Media: Triple J
Date: 15 August 2008
Time:4.40pm
Transcript: Interview, Minister for Sport, Kate Ellis is interviewed by Triple J about the Beijing Olympics and kids playing sport.
COMPERE: Here we're joined on the line [Indistinct] Beijing by our Minister of Sport Kate Ellis. Good afternoon Australian time, Kate, and can I ask you first the medal tally and what the Brains Trust in the Department of Sport is projecting from here to the end of the Games?
KATE ELLIS: Good afternoon, boys. It's great to be with you. We're hoping that Roy's spirit will be lifted a little bit more. We're thinking that we're in with some very good chances in of course the rowing over the weekend but also the cycling from tonight, and down at the sailing. So I hope that we will have a few more times we get to hear the national anthem and whether athletes choose to sing or not I'll certainly be belting it out if that's the case.
COMPERE: That's very good. Now so you're quietly confident, the Department of Sport is quietly confident we can crack the double figures in gold?
KATE ELLIS: Well I can't speak on behalf of the Department of Sport. We're not the ones that come up with the medal projections. You'll have to speak to Mr Coates about that, but I certainly am backing our athletes to have a good week coming up.
COMPERE: Now obviously we put all this stuff on from the Australian perspective, apart from winning medals the idea is to get fat unfit kids into sport by dreaming about competing at the Games.
Look&
KATE ELLIS: Absolutely.
COMPERE: We've had a terrific go at this over the last four years, getting this team together but it doesn't seem to be getting the message through to fat kids because now I think I'm right in saying Australians are virtually gold medallists in the fat stakes. Where - is this being - to use a common phrase, uncoupled unnecessarily or how do we get that message back together?
KATE ELLIS: Well I think that we can't rely solely on our athletes being great role models, but that is an important part of it. But I think we also have to look at ways that we can get out into the schools, get people running and jumping, catching and throwing, and I think there's no doubt that when the Olympics comes around people look at their screens or have a look at the amazing performances going on and think I'd like to grow up and be the next Stephanie Rice or whichever sport it may be. So I think it is an important part of it.
COMPERE: Well I certainly notice our equestrian team I think Megan Jones in particular was very vocal in suggesting that the silver medal that the team won would encourage people right across Australia to get involved with the horse sports at the Olympics which is great. But of course then where would kids say living in, I don't know, the suburbs of Canberra, keep their horse in the backyard? But then they might run into trouble with the local council who wouldn't like the horse there. A lot of us live in high rise, now could they train a horse to stay with them on the balcony of their high rise? I mean there's a lot of problems here, and I don't see really of that being an option.
Is it possible for Government funding to be redirected so as kids can have more horses?
KATE ELLIS: [Laughs] Well I think that this silver medal might really create some enormous challenges for us going forward, but I'm on the case and I'm willing to have a look into finding some solutions. So that&
COMPERE: A perfect answer I would have thought, Kate Ellis.
KATE ELLIS: Thank you, thank you for that.
COMPERE: And now here's a couple of questions from Roy.
COMPERE: Yes, Minister great to link up with you. Look I spoke with John Coates this morning and he's calling for a lot more money to go into our Olympic effort going forward. Now at the moment we're looking at about $14 million per medal. I think that's a sound and wise investment, can we see that being punched up maybe, to maybe an expectation of say $25 million to $30 million per medal?
KATE ELLIS: Well I hope that the way that we work out our sports funding is never based on the medals that they deliver. We know for example that the medals in team sports are significantly more expensive just as a result of training and supporting whether it be 10, 15 or 20 athletes, plus of course the 10 that might not make selection onto the team as opposed to one in - training one person in the swimming or the athletics. So it varies a lot from sport to sport but it's something I have no doubt we'll be sitting down with Mr Coates and discussing further. And certainly we'll want to work with them going forward&
COMPERE: Oh yes indeed, going forward indeed. Now, Minister just leaving sport aside just for a moment, have you had a chance to talk much about Tibet? Are you a Free Tibet person?
KATE ELLIS: Well strangely it hasn't been on the top of the agenda over here. It's not the issue on the tips of everybody's tongues. I certainly have my views on Tibet and on a number of human rights issues over here but the last week or so I've been very much focused on the sports and the Australian athletes.
COMPERE: No, I understand that, I understand that. Speaking of which are there any advantages you can see there in your part of Beijing to living in a police state? Certainly it's a terrific way of organising people, minister you'd have to admit.
KATE ELLIS: Well it &[Laughs] Yes they do seem very organised and on top of things. They're lacking a little bit in flexibility I've found.
COMPERE: Look there's a downside I know I know, but you don't have a lot of people talking a lot of rubbish in the streets do you?
KATE ELLIS: Well that's true, that's true. There actually hasn't been a lot of people in the streets full stop.
COMPERE: Well, quite, they're not game to go out.
KATE ELLIS: [Laughs]
COMPERE: Now we're talking with Kate Ellis on the Golden Ring show and Minister we noticed you at the football the other night when the Olyroos wandered out of their comfort zone and got trampled by the elephants of Ivory Coast 1-0, deep in conversation with Seth [Indistinct] can I put it to you that you were talking about two things; obviously the World Cup bid in 2018 and the Brisbane bid now to host the Olympic Games in 2016. Can we see on the Golden Ring program that both these events will happen now as planned for Brisbane and Australia in those dates?
KATE ELLIS: I wouldn't lock the Olympics in just yet.
COMPERE: Right.
KATE ELLIS: I can't make any promises on that and you might be shocked to know that it actually didn't come up in conversation. We were very much focused on the game and on the Olyroos which was quite a good performance. We will however keep lobbying for the 2018 World Cup and see how we go there.
COMPERE: Roy?
COMPERE: Yes just finally, Minister we're concerned about the Australian men's basketball team, we think that they're rubbish this year. We don't know what to put a finger on it, we don't know where the problem is. Are you considering mounting a bit of a probe into what's gone wrong with our basketball?
KATE ELLIS: I'm not at this stage. In terms of our men's Olympic team in particular&
COMPERE: That's the one I'm talking about.
KATE ELLIS: They had a great game coming into the Olympics&
COMPERE: I know.
KATE ELLIS: &[Indistinct] by the US by what was it? Nine points.
COMPERE: Yeah but the US were running dead just to lure the [Indistinct] boomers into the box to give them both barrels in the Games. I know we've been devastated by the big raps before they went in and the pathetic performances they've delivered. These two matches, I mean they beat Iran, when was the last time Iran - sorry they beat Iran quite easily, but when was the last time Iran was a power in world basketball?
I don't want to put you on a spot&
COMPERE: I'll tell you. It's 60 years since Iran's had a basketball team.
COMPERE: And I tell you what, I don't want to put you on the spot but you cannot name your top 10 Iranian basketball players here and now. Fact.
KATE ELLIS: You're right about that. Our women's basketballers are certainly making up for them though.
COMPERE: The Opals, they've got a killer attitude, they've got that killer instinct with Lauren Jackson there leading from the front, but we don't seem to have that with the men. And I think if they were a horse you'd have to have an inquiry, you'd have to sample them, there is something wrong there, Minister and I think it requires a lot of attention because they've cost us a lot of money.
KATE ELLIS: [Laughs] And what do you propose might be an appropriate solution?
COMPERE: Yeah very good.
KATE ELLIS: I'm willing to take suggestions on this one.
COMPERE: Right, a probe I'd get them all in, I'd sit them down and I'd get people selected who know something about the sport to have a look at their videos and say what the & were you doing here? You know how come you didn't do this? Why didn't you you know get the free point. When you went to [Indistinct] etc. There's so many questions that ordinary people, basketball people from the basketball industry in Australia, and let's face it it's on its knees, we've lost three clubs over this period of the Olympics virtually, the build up to the Olympics, and now going forward we just don't
seem to have any you know firm hand on the tiller if I can put it that way.
COMPERE: That's right, that's right. Well it might require a little micro-management on your behalf, Minister, but in the meantime I trust you're having a great time.
KATE ELLIS: I'm enjoying the Games absolutely, particularly today when there is, for the first time since I've been here, beautiful blue sky.
COMPERE: That's fantastic. And you're coming back to Australia on the weekend. I hope it's not because Parliament starts next week.
KATE ELLIS: Well Parliament does tend to get in the way of these things sometimes, but I've enjoyed my time here and I'm looking forward to coming back to Australia and reporting back.
COMPERE: Very good, Minister. Thanks very much for being part of the Golden Ring show this afternoon.