Thursday, 9 February 2023

Ministers statements: major events

Steve DIMOPOULOS (Oakleigh – Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Minister for Creative Industries) (14:27): Victoria is leading the nation. In the last 100 days of Australia’s top-10 attended events, all 10 were in Victoria. With so much to do in Victoria, why would you be doing anything with the failed Liberal candidate for Mulgrave? We had huge crowds at the MCG, with over 80,000 for England’s win over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup final. We have just had a record-breaking Australian Open, smashing records globally – 839,192 fans – beating by a country mile the next biggest tournament in New York. All these sold-out events have made a huge impact on our hospitality sector. The city is buzzing, restaurants are booked out, bars are packed, and apparently the Liberal candidate for Mulgrave still has not conceded the election.

Our ability to put on world-class events is due to our continued investments. The Victorian government has invested nearly a billion dollars in a 10-year redevelopment of the Melbourne and Olympic parks and boulevard. I was at John Cain Arena on the weekend for the largest ever WNBL crowd, an opportunity to honour Lauren Jackson, the famous basketballer. There were more than 123,000 people heading to the city for the first weekend of Midsumma and the Pride event led by the Premier, and more than 80,000 visitors have attended Alexander McQueen at the NGV since it opened in December.

There is so much more to look forward to. Melbourne is the culinary capital of Australia. In September 2021 Time Out magazine globally listed Melbourne in the top 10 best cities for eating and drinking in the world – the only Australian city to make that list. In March the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival – so next month – will feature international and local chefs and our much-loved restaurants like Vue de Monde, Smith & Daughters and Embla. Get along to the festival, and you might want to think about who you take with you, who you invite to lunch, unlike those on the other side. All these events contribute $2.5 billion to our economy every single year.