$17 million/gold medal. 'Good Value': Nelson. (2 Viewers)

jb_nc

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Forking out close to $17 million in taxpayers money for every gold medal won by an Australian at the Beijing Olympics is value for money, federal Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson says.

The Sunday Age reports the cost of each gold medal won by an Australian in Beijing has cost taxpayers $16.7 million.

This cost does not take into account state government funding and the cost of high-tech sporting infrastructure, the report says.

Dr Nelson said the nation was very proud of the athletes' performances.

"It is value for money," Dr Nelson told Network Nine.

"Every single Australian is immensely proud of the achievements of our athletes...for all of those who have competed it has just been inspiring."

Dr Nelson said the federal government should look at extending sports funding.

"There's a very strong argument for looking at how we can further invest, not only in elite level sport but also sport generally in our country."

"I would very happy to have some discussions with Mr Rudd and key members of the sporting community about what more we can do as a nation to support our athletes in an increasingly competitive world."

This could include a lottery style funding system, Dr Nelson said.

Australia is in sixth place on the medal table with 14 gold, 15 silver and 17 bronze.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/17-million-per-gold-medal-is-value-nelson-20080824-414k.html

TAXPAYERS have forked out $16.7 million through direct federal grants for each of the 13 gold medals won by Australia's Olympic team in Beijing.

But sports academic James Connor said even that figure is an underestimate once funding by state governments, and the cost of sporting infrastructure, such as the high-tech $17 million Australian Institute of Sport swimming pool, are taken into account.

"The real price of a gold medal would be three, four or five times higher, up to $100 million," Dr Connor, from the Australian Defence Force Academy, told The Sunday Age.

In athletics, $19.3 million has been poured in over four years, and a European training base established. Although Australia did well, winning one gold medal, two silver and a bronze, most athletes failed to make the finals of their events.

Eddie McGuire, who is on the board of Athletics Australia, was scathing about the performance of Australian athletes, and called for much more money. Speaking on SEN radio, he accused them of a "lack of tactical nous".

"I just don't think they race enough … the four of us (radio hosts) may as well turn up in London at the moment to run in the 100 metres because at least we'll get to the first round. No one will get to the second, but who does anyway?"

Acting Australian Institute of Sport chief, Brent Espeland, has confirmed that sports such as cycling and gymnastics, which disappointed in the medal count, will need to fight for funding.

He said AIS programs were focused on medal success at Olympics. "They have all got to be looked at: what are the reasons (for the relative failure), can it be turned around, what are the priorities?"

Dr Connor said there was a fundamental problem in Australia's elite sport funding system, including the AIS, which he said "focuses on 18 Olympic sports, and Australia has won gold medals in just six of them".

"We've got to ask serious questions about how we spend money in elite sports, and what sports we target," he said.

The Australian Olympic movement has already begun demanding a massive increase in funding. Australian Olympic Committee chief John Coates launched an inquiry to ask how much extra money was needed to win 55 medals at the 2012 London Games and 60 at the 2016 Olympics.

Swimming coach Alan Thompson said Australian sport was "on the verge of a crisis" without a funding injection.

But the Federal Government is sceptical. Sport Minister Kate Ellis launched an inquiry in May into the efficiency of elite sport funding.

"We're never going to be able to compete dollar for dollar with much larger populations and economies, and when you look at it per capita Australians are incredibly generous," she told The Sunday Age. But Ms Ellis said money could be spent more efficiently by reducing duplication between the AIS in Canberra and state institutes.

Part of the problem, according to sources, is that different institutes waste money by bidding against each other to buy star athletes for the sake of "bragging rights".

But Ann Marie Harrison, chief of the Victorian Institute of Sport, which has a $7.1 million annual budget, including $5.6 million from the State Government, said she was "confused about what their interpretation … is" regarding duplication.

In Beijing, the Queensland Academy of Sport blitzed the AIS in producing the bulk of medallists, including all of swimming's individual gold medal winners - Stephanie Rice, Leisel Jones and Libby Trickett. This is despite the AIS recently sinking $17 million into a world-class "instrumented" swimming pool at its campus in Canberra.

Mr Espeland defended the AIS pool, saying all Olympic athletes, including those from Queensland, had visited Canberra for a short time in the lead-up to Beijing for help with the fine analysis of their problems.

The impetus behind setting up the AIS in 1981 was the national humiliation felt at the failure (one silver and four bronze medals) at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. Montreal is now acknowledged as the most drug-corrupted in history and the USSR and East Germany won the bulk of medals.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/going-for-gold-but-at-what-cost-20080823-40xd.html?page=-1

Can you believe we pay for this shit? Who cares about winning gold medals. Also post if you think Brendan Nelson is a huge tool.
 

jb_nc

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Let's be honest, KRudd has the same opinion as Nelson because they are the same.
 

jb_nc

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I reckon Nelson probably rates sport as more important than tertiary education.
 

jb_nc

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Apparently he's down with compulsary student unionism because they run the sports places or some shit.
 

Enteebee

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It's quite obvious to me that our elite sporting culture is of great benefit to the wider community. One of the most apparent benefits would seem to be that our children are so healthy, being the most obese nation on earth and all. Plus where would we learn aussie values such as a 'fair go' when we can't beat poorer nations down by buying success?

Definitely money well spent.
 

u-borat

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in comparison; china have set up a fund whereby every gold medal winner instantly earns 20 million.
 

jannny

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well i agree that altheletes should get money from govt from winning gold, but not that much!

what do countries get anyway from getting gold? just recognition?
 

Riet

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Miles Edgeworth said:
I don't understand why we invest even a single cent in sport: OH WAIT I KNOW WHY BECAUSE WE RETAIN SPORT SO THE RETARDED PEOPLE WHO CAN'T GO TO UNI HAVE SOMETHING TO ASPIRE TO WHILST THEY WASTE THEIR LIVES WORKING AT COLES OR WOOLIES AND PUMPING OUT MORE RETARDED CHILDREN.

Bring back eugenics.
It inspires nationalism among the lower classes so I'm all for it. We need good morale for when Indonesia starts feeling greedy.
 
X

xeuyrawp

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Riet said:
It inspires nationalism among the lower classes so I'm all for it. We need good morale for when Indonesia starts feeling greedy.
Fucking throw them into the army or girl guides or someshit.
 

A High Way Man

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Remove all those disgusting team sports from the olympics, then maybe ze humans will have a competition to be proud of.

BASEBALL
BASKETBALL
FIELD HOCKEY
FOOTBALL
HANDBALL
SOFTBALL
VOLLEYBALL
 

Riet

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PwarYuex said:
Fucking throw them into the army or girl guides or someshit.
Yo meng, that's what I mean. They will fight harder if they think Australia is worth something more than their shitty house that they can't afford in western sydney.
 

Jon73

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Thorpey drops out of school after y10.
Stephanie Rice can't even make it to anything after y12.

Let them be proud of their victories
 

Riet

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The only thing I have against stephanie rice is that im not fucking her
 

Riet

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Yeh,I'll rephrase it. I want to make sweet green and gold love to stephanie rice's box.

Also I just re-read what I posted in this thread and laughed at how right wing I've become recently even though my rents brought me up with supposed labour views.
 

kaz1

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That would equal to $238+ (because of team efforts like relay) million in these Olympics.
 

Slidey

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Miles Edgeworth said:
I don't understand why we invest even a single cent in sport: OH WAIT I KNOW WHY BECAUSE WE RETAIN SPORT SO THE RETARDED PEOPLE WHO CAN'T GO TO UNI HAVE SOMETHING TO ASPIRE TO WHILST THEY WASTE THEIR LIVES WORKING AT COLES OR WOOLIES AND PUMPING OUT MORE RETARDED CHILDREN.

Bring back eugenics.
Um, it's actually pretty good for society. Keeps people busy, social bonding, fun, and most of all, healthy.

We've got enough problems with fat-arses as it is; let's not start ragging on sport.
 

Enteebee

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Slidey said:
Um, it's actually pretty good for society. Keeps people busy, social bonding, fun, and most of all, healthy.

We've got enough problems with fat-arses as it is; let's not start ragging on sport.
elite-sport really doesn't seem to help our societies fitness in any way what-so-ever. Australia's per capita spending on the olympics is probably the highest of any nation and yet we're also the fattest. I support programs for kids sport and helping out those who are up and coming. I do not support expensive programs designed purely to win gold medals. So yeah, I think we've got to separate the two... there's sport which is all those good things you talked about and then there's the elite sport which is an entirely different animal.
 

Riet

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Slidey said:
Um, it's actually pretty good for society. Keeps people busy, social bonding, fun, and most of all, healthy.

We've got enough problems with fat-arses as it is; let's not start ragging on sport.
shame cunts just watch it on tv though,.
 

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