Senator the Hon Helen Coonan

Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts

M2006 Commonwealth Games—a wealth of opporunities

Address to the Business Club Australia Melbourne 2006 function

Mumbai

Monday 24 October 2005

It is a great pleasure to be with you today in Mumbai to speak about the opportunities ahead during the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Inspiration, pride, celebration, friendship, excellence—the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games will be a wonderful experience and a unique opportunity to showcase Australia’s best to the rest of the world.

The success of such a major international event hinges on the spirit of cooperation, significant behind-the-scenes support and groundwork.

An example of this groundwork was when a few weeks ago the Queen’s Baton arrived in India.

The Baton travelled through all 53 countries and
18 territories of the Commonwealth on its
180,000 kilometre journey to Melbourne.

I understand this is a world first. No relay in the history of the games has ever visited all member nations.

Opportunties

In the same inclusive spirit, it is a pleasure to be here to talk about an initiative that will bring the business communities of the Commonwealth together in Melbourne—Business Club Australia: Melbourne 2006.

The strength of the bilateral relationship between Australia and India has grown in recent years, based on shared economic interests and growing strategic cultural and people-to people links.

Of course, a major contributor to India’s economic growth is information technology.

ICT delegation to India

I am leading a high-level ICT delegation and will see first hand India’s ICT transformation and look at ways Australia can further benefit from India’s hi-tech industries.

We already have a healthy business relationship. Nine out of the top twenty trading partners are from the Commonwealth—and this includes, of course, India.

There are more than 1,500 Australian businesses with export interests in India and a growing number of Indian businesses forging a presence in Australia.

Just last Friday Australia signed a new ICT Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Government. This is a formal expression of the growing industry and government ICT links.

These links are important because both Australia and India stand to benefit from the opportunities of a growing global ICT market.

Both Australia and India have common interests in applying ICT to water, mining, transport, food, the film industry, sport, and energy to name just a few.

We also share a common interest in applying ICT in key service areas of health and education.

We also share a number of challenges in further developing communications infrastructure, including extending broadband and other services to remote populations.

One way we can ensure Australian and Indian ICT companies can reap the rewards of a strong ICT industry sector is through expanding our networks and building strong partnerships. We want to be more than just customers of India. We want to become partners and find opportunities to collaborate together.

Business Club Australia opportunities

The Business Club Australia: Melbourne 2006 will use the international profile, excitement and attention of the Games to generate real partnerships between Australian and Indian companies and, indeed, businesses right across the Commonwealth.

The Club has previously attracted more than 20,000 business people from around the world through their programs surrounding the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Rugby World Cup 2003.

Membership is free to all Indian companies interested in pursuing business connections in Australia.

In the lead up to the Games the Club will be working hard to catch the attention of business people around the world and to encourage them to come to Australia.

They will do this by hosting a program of networking events in England, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada and right here in India.

During the M2006 Games there will be a business-matching program to facilitate one-on-one meetings between visiting international business visitors and Australian members, including hospitality at key sports fixtures.

It will be an exciting and rewarding time for all Business Club Australia members and the Australian Government would like to ensure that, well after the Games have finished, the impact of a successful Business Club Australia program will be felt.

Support for Delhi 2010

The Government supports knowledge transfer from the M2006 Games to the Delhi 2010 Organising Committee.

I understand that the M2006 Organising Committee already has plans in place to work the Delhi 2010 Organising Committee which is great to see.

I am also pleased to learn that a delegation from the Delhi 2010 Organising Committee will be attending the M2006 Games as observers.

The M2006 Games is an opportunity to leverage business, trade and investment opportunities.

I am sure the Indian Government will be very interested in how the Commonwealth Games in Delhi 2010 can benefit the Indian business community.

The Australian Government is proudly contributing $293.7 million as part of the coordinated effort underway to ensure the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games are a huge success.

While much of this funding will go into direct financial assistance and the provision of further services some of it will go into leveraging lasting national benefits from the Games including promoting tourism, promoting business, trade and investment opportunities.

Part of the challenge of holding a successful Commonwealth Games is ensuring that we take advantage of the business opportunities that present themselves.

The Business Club Australia initiative is an excellent example of sport, government and business uniting to promote Australia’s economic interests and generate new linkages and maximise business matching opportunities.

The Australian Government’s support for Business Club Australia BCA is just one way the Government is supporting the successful staging of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. 

The excitement and world attention generated by the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games will generate real business partnerships between Australian and Indian companies and businesses right across the Commonwealth.

I would urge Indian companies to join Business Club Australia as soon as possible and join us in Melbourne in March 2006 to enjoy the thrill of the Games and the Club’s impressive program of business events and world-class networking facility.

Thank you.