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Olympics Review ABC - Offsiders 24 August 2008

24 August 2008

MEDIA: ABC TV - Offsiders

DATE: 24 August 2008

TRANSCRIPT: Interview, Minister for Sport, Kate Ellis does a round up of the Olympics with Offsiders panel.

Barrie Cassidy: Kate Ellis the Federal Sports Minister now, joins us from Adelaide. Good morning, Minister.

Kate Ellis: Good morning, great to be with you.

Barrie Cassidy: Look, I read this morning an Australian Olympic official said that they've already set a target now for London, 55 medals in all. They're going to go away now and calculate what that will cost and then they'll come and see you. Why not just cut to the chase and have an auction for the medals.

Kate Ellis: Well, I think that one of the things that has happened over the last few days in this debate is that we've begun to accept the myth, what I believe is a myth, that medals are just about levels of funding. And I think that if you have a look at Australia's performance over the last 10, 20 years, we have punched above our weight, but it hasn't been just because we've funded generously, it's also been because we've had a really smart system and because we've had a great structure in place. And I think that we need to be mindful of that and make sure that we keep looking, not just at funding, whilst I am sure we're going to have those debates going forward, but also at how we're using that money and how we're being smarter than the rest of the world and staying ahead of the pack.

Barrie Cassidy: And you also got the sense that up until the last couple of days they were going to come to you and say, well, how disappointing was the performance in Beijing and we need to do something about that as a country. But they can hardly say that now.

Kate Ellis: Oh, look, I think it's been a remarkable performance by the Australian team, 46 medals. And particularly when you consider that we're competing against the best of the best of the entire world. I mean I absolutely commend and think we should be celebrating the efforts of our team in China. But equally we'll all be looking to the future and how we can continue to do better and how we can better support our athletes.

John Harms: Minister there's going to be reviews, not just about what's gone on at the Olympic games but about sport generally, what's your view of sport and its role in the community. What should it be doing for the community?

Kate Ellis: Oh, look, I believe, don't know how long you've got, but I think that sport is incredibly powerful. It's incredibly powerful, one, to create role models but also to promote healthy lifestyles but also what we don't really focus on a lot is I think it's really powerful to bring communities, together to teach people education, discipline and leadership, teamwork. And for education outcomes. I think that in terms of the outcomes of sport they're incredibly broad and really cover almost the whole of government and I think sport can be used to achieve a whole range of different ends.

Barrie Cassidy: And is there a trickle-down effect, like if kids are watching somebody perform well in Beijing then they're more likely to go out and run around the block or take on some exercise?

Kate Ellis: I absolutely believe there is. I was - when I was in China I had the opportunity to speak to a couple of people from Australia Post who were telling me just the hundreds and thousands of letters from children that were going over to our athletes there. I don't think there's any doubt that that creates role models and encourages people to aspire to either perhaps reach the Olympics themselves one day or even just to do a bit more physical activity and be a bit healthier themselves.

Gideon Haigh: Minister, I've got a technical question about the position of coaches. Ken Wood sold the training program for Jessica Schipper to her Chinese competitor in the 200 metres butterfly, does Ken Wood own that intellectual property and should he or should he not be allowed to sell it?

Kate Ellis: Look, I think that we need to accept that this is actually nothing new and as much as it may upset us and particularly in the circumstances that we saw, this is a global marketplace for coaches, it always has been. And it's actually, if you have a look at our team, we have a number of coaches who earn their tools of the trade overseas in other nations and we've bought them and used that ourselves. So that's something that goes on and I think we need to accept that. I don't think that we can stop that nor should we try but what we can be looking at is ways that we can - I think we can better recognise our coaches as the important heroes that they are behind that scenes. I think we can probably better support them and I think that I'd be very keen to look at ways that we can better train coaches right from a community up to the elite level as well.

Caroline Wilson: And Minister, we make a lot of finals in pretty much every pursuit. The one area where we are glaringly deficient is track and field and it is obviously the main part of any Olympic games. Is that something that requires an individual inquiry or...

Kate Ellis: I think that we can look at that when we look at our system overall. Noting, Steve Hooker, I mean, I think there have been some extraordinary examples at this Olympics, particularly when you keep in mind the athletes that we lost just leading into the games. But I think that we need to look at the pathways in athletics, we need to look at the pathways right from junior through to elite sport. But I think that when we have a look at our talent identification programs that I'd be very keen to analyse whether there's more that we can be doing in that area. But on the whole we did have a couple of, and perhaps surprised but great results this Olympics but it's something that we will consider going forward absolutely.

Gideon Haigh: Minister, what do you think of the prostitution of successful athletes to competing media interests during the games? Has it not become an incredibly obnoxious sideshow?

Kate Ellis: [Laughs] Well, I don't know whether I would personally have used that particular description, but I think that this is all part and parcel of being such amazing public role models that the media is going to go after you and if they're going to have an auction and the like, well, it's not my job to judge the way the media goes about their business. I think it works the other way around. But I think it's fantastic that these people who have trained so hard put in such amazing discipline, do become such public figures and I think it's great that we promote them. I just would much prefer to step back and allow the race for these athletes to go on around me, I don't think I need to get in the middle of that one.

Caroline Wilson: And I'll change the subject briefly, if that's all right.

Kate Ellis: Sure.

Caroline Wilson: The AFL and its three strikes drugs policy. They haven't released yet their positive drug tests from last year. They're going to soon, along with a few changes to the current policy including trial holiday testing, using hair among other things. Are you happy with the three strikes policy and is it true, as we hear, that the relationship now with this new government and the AFL is a lot better than the previous?

Kate Ellis: Well, I certainly hope that the relationship is a lot better than the previous. I think that when we have a look at illicit drugs in sport, what we've been working very hard to do is rather than beating up on different sports, we've actually been trying to work to find a cooperative approach that we can come up with with a code of conduct, if you will, that fits right across the board, but not just on our professional sports and not just on the sports that already have codes in place but to all of those that don't already. Now, that's an interesting exercise and we have worked very cooperatively with the AFL. I've been on the phone with Andrew Demetriou several times just in the last week. And there will be some announcements about that coming up very shortly. Didn't really answer your...

Barrie Cassidy: Okay, Minister.

Kate Ellis: ..sorry, did it?

Caroline Wilson: Well, no, the three strikes was the question, are you going to stick with that, will you let them stick with that?

Kate Ellis: Well, I think what we need to recognise is under the previous government's policy whilst they might have liked to play politics with it and go out and harp on about how tough on drugs they were being, it wasn't actually ever going to be implemented because they couldn't reach agreement with the AFL and the Government themselves had no power whatsoever to enforce that policy. And I know they talked about withholding the small amount of funding that was going forward but it wasn't going to be implemented. What I am working on doing is coming up with a policy that will be implemented across the board and that means working cooperatively so it means that there are areas of compromise. What I'll be releasing is what the government believes is the ideal code of conduct for sports across the board and of course that will have some statements in there about so-called strikes and when they should come into force.

I think that we should be raising standards up across all sports rather than lowering any, but you'll have to stay tuned for that, I am afraid, Caroline, it's not much longer.

Caroline Wilson: Fair enough.

Barrie Cassidy: Okay. And finally, Minister, we have to worry about your judgement. We've beaten Great Britain in the gold medal count at the last four Olympics but you had to have a bet with them at this one?

Kate Ellis: Yes, I did. Well, I think it's an important part of my job to back the Australian athletes when people are doubting them. Unfortunately in this particular instance it's going to lead to me either having to eat a little bit of humble pie which in fact I am very much enjoying speaking to you because I understand next up I have some UK media who are getting me to concede defeat on camera so, it's very painful but I will always back our athletes and I certainly appreciate the comments that I heard earlier about the fact that we were up against four countries there and when you have a look at their population but I am trying desperately hard to be gracious so I'll try not to harp on about that.

Barrie Cassidy: And the deal is that you have to wear the Union Jack colours. Have you picked the event?

Kate Ellis: No, I haven't yet. But I'll - you know I am not one to shirk on a bet but , yeah, I am not particularly looking forward to that and I am a little bit worried about whether that will see me ever being able to be re-elected once the people of Australia see me parading around sporting fields in a Union Jack, but anyway, so be it.

Barrie Cassidy: Thanks for your time this morning, appreciate it. Thank you.

Kate Ellis: Lovely to be with you.

[ENDS]

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