Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has described the snap review into the future of the Canberra-based Australian Institute of Sport as an opportunity for a "fresh look" and to "make some big decisions".
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The Minister and ACT senator's view of the review of the infrastructure needs of the 45-year-old "national home of sport" came in a late Senate estimates hearing on Thursday where the boss of the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), swimming legend Kieren Perkins, confirmed he is yet to meet the Infrastructure Minister Catherine King.
In light of the two-person, independent review called earlier this month by Ms King and Minister for Sport Anika Wells, ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, independent ACT senator David Pocock, former Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates, and federal Labor MPs Andrew Leigh, David Smith and Alicia Payne are among those who have called for the AIS to stay in the national capital as a national institution and as the cheapest and quickest option of renewal.
AIS facilities at the Bruce campus have been allowed to decline and there has been a push by Queensland officials to move the AIS to south-east Queensland ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics. During questioning to the ASC, Senator Gallagher offered the government's view of the review.
![Minister for Finance and Senator for the ACT, Katy Gallagher. Picture by Karleen Minney Minister for Finance and Senator for the ACT, Katy Gallagher. Picture by Karleen Minney](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/128375134/f7497bc5-7507-4a66-8219-f920aa7a074e.jpg/r0_679_8256_5339_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We want a fresh look. We want fresh advice to come. There's an opportunity here. Terms of reference spell it out. We need to be in a position to make some big decisions," the minister told the committee.
"And I think fresh advice, complemented by all the work that's been done today, which is included in the terms of reference will assist with that."
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Earlier this month, The Canberra Times revealed the excerpts of the confidential AIS master plan showing the Australian Sports Commission rejecting the "significantly high execution risk" and more than $1 billion cost to move the AIS to south-east Queensland ahead of the 2028 and 2032 Olympics and Paralympics.
The master plan, which will form part of the review, showed the cost of moving the AIS, or decentralising functions across various states and territories, assessed at a minimum of $600 million, exclusive of land costs, but could cost in excess of $1 billion in initial capital investment.
![ACT Senator David Pocock at senate estimates. Picture by Elesa Kurtz ACT Senator David Pocock at senate estimates. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/128375134/af699b67-dcdb-478a-9fee-aa4c0d5a458f.jpg/r0_175_7869_4617_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
It also indicated relocation may impact athlete preparation and risk Australia's sporting ambitions.
Ultimately, the ASC chose the option of staying in Canberra but spending $200 million to upgrade existing facilities.
"I think there's been a lot of work that's been done that includes that [AIS master plan] work," Senator Gallagher said. "So this pulls it all together, I think, and provides that advice to government so that we can make some decisions that are needed. Decisions that have perhaps been neglected for too long."
Under questioning by Senator Pocock, Mr Perkins revealed he has not yet met the Infrastructure Minister, despite her department drafting the terms of reference of the review "as leads", with input from the Office of Sport.
He has met Ms Wells as the ASC works to the Minister for Sport.
"The Australian Institute of Sport plays a fairly significant and important role in the development of all pathway and high performance athletes in the country," Mr Perkins said.
"Certainly, the sunk cost that sits within our site makes it a site that we continue to want to invest in.
"But of course, as I've stated, at the end of the day, the Sports Commission and the AIS is a statutory body of government and it is something that government will choose to make an assessment of."
The independent review is being undertaken by the chair of the National Intermodal Corporation Erin Flaherty and the CEO of Sport Inclusion Australia and Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee board member Robyn Smith.
The review is due to deliver its report before the end of the year.