MEMBER for Leichhardt Warren Entsch has congratulated the team at Cairns Hockey Association for their outstanding work in securing the host city title for a test match series between Australia and New Zealand in June.
Cairns Hockey was successful in being named as the host of the test series following a hotly contested bidding process against other cities across Australia.
Mr Entsch said the successful bid was a testament to the high-standing Cairns Hockey holds in the sport on the national stage.
The test series will be held in Cairns from June 23 to 25, featuring Australia and New Zealand, ranked the world’s number one and number seven in the world respectively.
“The test series will be one of the last chances for both sides to prepare for the London Olympics so we can expect to see them both at full-strength,” Mr Entsch said.
“I want to send my congratulations to Cairns Hockey for the work they put into this bid.
“It shows Cairns can match it with the best in the country when it comes to hosting world-class hockey matches.”
Mr Entsch said the test match also highlighted the urgent need to upgrade sports infrastructure in Far North Queensland to ensure future growth in sports tourism.
Mr Entsch said he would meet with local government and state election candidates in coming weeks to seek their support for the work of the Cairns Business and Sporting Group Implementation Committee.
“We have to fast-track the infrastructure for Cairns Hockey because we’ve now got the artificial turf at the Sheridan St hockey centre, now let’s build the stadium,” Mr Entsch said.
“I’ll be working with the Implementation Committee to encourage candidates to commit to fast-tracking the building of the stadium, along with other shovel-ready projects.
“These are all important steps in the goal of securing a tropical campus of the Australian Institute of Sport in Far North Queensland.”
