Mr Speaker, to provide some perspective, for hon Mackenzie's benefit and for the benefit of the House, which seems to be as ill-informed as he is, the Nicholson Commission was appointed by the Ministry of Sport and Recreation - nobody else. In fact, stemming from the recommendations made by the Nicholson Commission, today we have independent directors there and they are all highly respected individuals.
The accusation that the Minister of Sport and the Ministry are silent on the whole cricket saga that is going on at the moment is devoid of all truth. The facts are that negotiation processes are ongoing and if we dared issue a statement before they were concluded we would be accused of interfering in the affairs of cricket and sport and of not respecting the international rules of independence.
This is precisely why I caution the hon member, who is a seasoned sport administrator in the game of rugby. I know he is excited about this coming Saturday but he should be patient. Saturday's result will be known after the whistle. In the same way we will timeously issue a statement on the whole cricket saga.
May I conclude by saying that the whole issue of dependence and independence, and respect for that barrier in international sport, led to Ministers of sport and the International Olympic Committee, at Cancun in Mexico two years ago, concluding and coming up with resolutions precisely to the effect that there is a role for governments in the development state to have a say in the development and management of sport. If we want to host international events, government must put up the guarantees and provide for everything. So I caution the member to be patient. The Minister of Sport will issue a statement in due course. Thank you. [Applause.]