Family & community day

Today is ACT 's first family and community day. From this year on it will be observed every first Tuesday in Nov.

Guess what else happens on the same Tuesday every year? The Melbourne cup! It's Australian's most famous horse race (a.k.a the race stops the nation).

Here are some numbers I found about the event:

• An economic benefit statement prepared for the Victorian Racing Club by consultants IER Partnering Solutions found that 2005’s Spring Racing Carnival generated $524.3 million for the Victorian economy as visitors spent in a frenzy of fashion, tourism and wagering;

• The same report found that The Melbourne Cup was responsible for $318 million, or 60%, of that figure, with the Government benefiting from $10 million in tax revenue;

• Emirates – the official Melbourne Cup sponsor – is spending about $65 million on its sponsorship of Australian racing this year out of a total global sponsorship spend of $155 million;

• In 2005 punters gambled $247.8 million through TAB’s, according to Tabcorp. Victorians wagered $35.6 million on the Cup;

• According to a recent Roy Morgan Research survey, more than 6.5 million people (39% of the population aged 14 and over) say they almost always or occasionally watch The Melbourne Cup on television...

At the very beginning I thought "family & community" was just an excuse for people to go home and watch TV (before this year work would be stopped anyway, including Parliament hearing). But after our encounter this afternoon I see there is actually a legitimate point.

MM & I decided to explore Canberra a bit more after lunch. So we took a drive to the North of the City and happened to stop at this small town on our way. It turned out the only bar in the town center was packed with people, or should I say, punters, and that was after the race was finished.

Obviously people were having fun: empty drink glasses were scattered everywhere and people were still drinking, laughing and chatting. It gave me a feeling that the race hadn't started yet and will never finish. An ad posted in the bar showed they had some special deal for today as well as "prize for the best hat". No wonder some ladies wore elegant ones with fascinators. Small children ran around the bar as if it were a carnival though another sign on the door saying "You must not enter if you're under the age of 18."

Nobody seemed to care. It was the family and community day, after all.