EMBARGO: 5.00pm

Ji. AUSTRALIA,,/>

PRIME MINISTER

FOR MEDIA SUNDAY, 10 OCTOBER 1982

ELECTORATE TALK

Now that the Commonwealth Games has finished., I want to thank  a great many people for what they have done for Australia in  making the last 10 days so wonderfully successful.  The Games .   brought out the best qualities in Australians and those

qualities came through clearly in the efforts and achievements  of the thousands of competitors and organisers. They worked .   together - many of them literally for years - to bring off  a magnificent sporting occasion. And in doing so, they brought

together the entire Australian nation. .

The opening ceremony will stay in the minds of Australians , for a very long time. There was a friendly and light-hearted  atmosphere as the thousands of school children poured on to the,  QEII sports ground to create that memorable display of the Flag  and the map of Australia which filled every Australian who saw

it with a feeling of pride in our country that is difficult to Â·   put into words. The children and the arrangers of the display  deserve great credit. So, too, do the. dancers from the  cross-section of national backgrounds who performed at the  opening and who brought home to us the truly multi-cultural  nature of Australian society today. .

So many people contributed to the success of the Games. The  organisers and officials not only in Brisbane but throughout  Australia and the whole Commonwealth.  The. volunteers who gave Â·   their time and.effort willingly for their country, there  were thousands of them. The members of the Australian armed

forces, the ABC, for their exceptional TV coverage in Australia,  and around the world. The people of Brisbane for being such good  hosts in the dynamic and colourful city of which they can be  very proud.  And, of course, the competitors, our outstanding  Australian team and their dedicated, long suffering coaches,

families and other supporters. .  .

.  I look back to 1976 when I visited the Australian team at the  Olympic Games in Montreal where we had not won a single gold .   medal. The team were depressed; Australians'in general were .   disappointed.  Intensive training and coaching and a scientific

approach to sport in other countries meant that our athletes  were being left behind. The Government had to decide whether  we would let the world pass us by or whether we would give our  athletes the full-blooded support they needed to win world  victories.

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We established the Australian Institute of Sport,  it has cost  $34 million to build and equip so far, and it has contributed .   significantly to Australia's 107 medals this year. Champions  like, triple gold medal winner Lisa Curry and marathon winner  Robert de Castella came from the Institute. The Government .   gave the Commonwealth Games Association. $455,000 to help

plrepare athletes and to provide them with the international  competition that is a vital part of their preparation. . Another $200,000Â·went towards the staging of the S.G.I.O. . Games in Brisbane last year as a warm-up for the Commonwealth .

Games itself. .  ,

Now there are new targets in our sights. In 1984, the first  Biennial Australia. Gaines is planned for Sydney .  Then, later  that year, comes the Los Angeles Olympics. The Government,  is providing $l,5.million to', the Australian Olympic

Federation for the preparation of our athletes.

At the same time this is on top of the continued funding of  dozens of. national sporting organisations, through the Sports  Development Program and, of course, the Australian Institute  of Sport will grow and develop. Australia's athletes deserve

the.rsupport of this nation. In the last 10 days they provided  the hard ..evidence of a dramatic revival of Australia's sporting .   ability. They also set a wonderful example, displaying good  sportsmanship whether they won or lost, and I believe, representing,  the true co-operative spirit of the Commonwealth. Our representatives  took the nation with them in the intense national pride and  purpose they exhibited. For that we thank them greatly.

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