The following is the open letter written by John Coates for the Sunday Telegraph on the 22nd of November 2009.
As a raw rowing manager many years ago, I dreamed that one day Australia would again host the Olympic Games. In Sydney in 2000, I felt privileged to be part of a celebration that engulfed the entire nation and earned Australia, and Australians, accolades throughout the world.
Indeed, the 2000 Games delivered much more than the 58 medals won by the home team.
Up there with the feats of Cathy Freeman and Ian Thorpe was the outpouring of national pride. To see Australians standing on trains singing the national anthem made me so proud I thought I would burst.
Australians are usually reserved, but during the Olympics they found their voice.
When Sydney won the bid in 1993, then Prime Minister Paul Keating said: "This is an opportunity for Australia and Australians to show we can hack it in the big time.''
Mr Keating felt the Olympics were an opportunity to tell the world we could achieve anything in business or sport -- that we were a ``can do'' nation.
He was right. When we hosted the Games, Australians sang from the rooftops and the world listened.
Almost a decade on from 2000, the lure of the Olympics has taken on even greater importance for those desperate to win the right to host the Games.
In a world gripped by terrorism, war and poverty, US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle attended the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Copenhagen last month to try to win the 2016 Olympics for Chicago.
Mr Obama wanted the Games for two reasons. Chicago is his home town but, more importantly, he saw a chance to repair fractured relations with countries around the globe and to promote world peace.
He said he wanted to restore America's image as a friendly nation and Olympic sport was key to achieving that aim.
Mr Obama told delegates: "Peaceful competition between nations is all that is good about humanity.
"Over the past few years, the fundamental truth of the United States has been lost . . . [and] the Olympic Games could restore it.''
I believe Prime Minister Kevin Rudd understands the necessity of maintaining Australia's standing in elite sport, as his friend Mr Obama certainly does.
I am sure Mr Rudd is also well aware of the power of engaging through sport internationally. He has said Australia's global standing lies in the fact that we are an enormously competitive nation on the international field of sporting endeavour. It is part of who we are as a country.
In a speech at the Hall of Fame Sport Awards in 2008, Mr Rudd said: "When you reflect on this history of sport in this country and you reflect on how it has been ingrained into the nation's soul, you cannot separate the two.
``Our sporting heroes are part of the soul of the Australian nation. And you know that from the soul of the nation comes the spirit of the nation. Let me say, the inspiration of our sportsmen and women becomes even more important.''
The Crawford panel is putting all this in jeopardy. According to David Crawford, "The bias towards funding Olympic sports leads to outcomes that make little strategic sense for Australia.''
The US President and the First Lady were not alone in Copenhagen. The President of Brazil was there, as were King Juan Carlos of Spain and the Japanese Prime Minister. All had their eye on the prize.
Mr Rudd was in China last year with 70 other world leaders to watch the Beijing Olympics. He sat in the stands with George W. Bush. He saw first-hand how sport enables countries to forge closer ties.
China is our largest trading nation and the friendships established at the Beijing Olympics only strengthened those ties.
The Australian Olympic team was by far the most popular team in the Olympic village. The athletes did an outstanding job ``selling'' their country to the world.
They deserve recognition for their work, on and off the sporting arena.
Austrade leveraged the Olympic brand during the Beijing Olympics to clinch more deals in China. It's asking if it can do the same for Vancouver and London.
We are delighted to assist the federal Government, but it's a two-way street.
You can't say, "Sorry, guys, you don't deserve any extra funding but, by the way, we want to hang off your coat tails again and knock over a few more trade contracts and business deals in Vancouver and London, and beyond.'' That's a bit rich.
Australian athletes have been rubbing shoulders with the world's best for some time.
Little Australia, with just 20 million people, finished fourth in the medal tally at the Sydney Games.
It was up there with the superpowers again at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008.
Their achievements give other Australians the confidence to go out and try their hand on the world stage.
Australians love to win but, in his report, David Crawford suggests that we should accept second-best and aim for eighth or 10th on the medal tally.
This is like telling Kevin Rudd to forget about being a member of the G20 summit, aim to be 21st or 31st and lose his seat at the top table. Become an also-ran.
In the 1930s, Australians had little to cheer about following the Great Depression.
We fell in love with a racehorse called Phar Lap.
In the 1940s, we idolised a little bloke in a baggy green cap called Don Bradman.
They are still part of the national ethos.
Yet Mr Crawford offers this gem: "There should be debate about which sports carry the national ethos.
"Swimming, tennis, cricket, cycling, the football codes, netball, golf, hockey, basketball, surfing and surf lifesaving are among the most popular sports in Australia and a part of the national psyche.''
Is he seriously suggesting that the gold medals won in Beijing last year by Matthew Mitcham in diving, Steve Hooker in pole vault, Emma Snowsill in triathlon and Ken Wallace in canoeing meant nothing to the Australian people?
Such athletes give Australians something to cheer about in yet another gloomy economic climate.
Even more insulting is Mr Crawford's failure to recognise the greats of the past.
When you talk of national ethos, names like Marjorie Jackson, Betty Cuthbert, Marlene Mathews, Shirley Strickland and Herb Elliott spring to mind.
I've read the knockers who say we place too much emphasis on sport and spend too much achieving gold medals, but I believe those golds are worth every cent. I think the vast majority of Australians agree with me.
A survey carried out by Sweeney Sports in August, 2008, found: "Almost half of all Australians support extra government funding of Olympic sports if it results in more gold medals being won.
"Six out of every 10 people consider that good performances at the Olympic Games are good for Australia's sense of optimism.''
A report by Woolcott Research in September, 2008, argued that "although the current economic crisis makes provision of extra funds for sport a difficult choice for governments, it could be an important step to boosting national morale''.
UN secretary-general Ban Ki Moon was also in Copenhagen for the IOC meeting. He said: "Sport builds bridges throughout the world.
"I travel to countries mired in poverty, to communities struggling to survive, to war-ravaged places where all hope seems lost.
"Suddenly, a ball appears made out of plastic bags or newspapers and we see sport give life to hopes and dreams.''
Kevin Rudd, let's keep the dream alive.
John Coates
President, Australian Olympic Committee
