Thursday, 19 June 2025

Ministers statements: creative industries

Colin BROOKS (Bundoora – Minister for Industry and Advanced Manufacturing, Minister for Creative Industries) (14:21): The Allan Labor government is backing in our creative industries, and one great example is Melbourne’s big winter arts festival Rising, which has just concluded. I know the Clerk is a big fan of that festival. This year it attracted around 270,000 people to some 33 public events. It sold 72,000 tickets and generated 11,000 new subscribers, which is a 15 per cent increase in audiences. This supported jobs not just for creatives but for thousands of people who work across the city in hotels, restaurants, bars and hospitality.

Victoria and Melbourne are also home to one of the great theatre districts of the world, with the Princess Theatre, the Forum, the Comedy and the Athenaeum to name but a few. Right now there are some great shows on. Beetlejuicethe Musical is on at the Regent Theatre – and we are not selling our share in that theatre – an adaption of a story of people trying to rid their house of evil spirits, and I am not talking about the Legislative Council. Her Majesty’s is also hosting a production of Hadestown, a great musical based on the ancient Greek mythical tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice. These productions are great for our economy and jobs. Deputy Speaker, I know that you are just as big a fan as I am of French classical ballet, and no doubt you are looking forward to the Regent Theatre hosting the Australian Ballet’s performance of the tragedy Manon, a story of passion and betrayal.

But if you are a fan of classic tragedies, there is a great example on tonight. The characters in this performance are a hapless leader, a fallen prince, a crusading queen –

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, I would have thought the minister would know his own ruling from when he was the Speaker that there is no opportunity to attack the opposition.

Mary-Anne Thomas: Deputy Speaker, there was no point of order. The Minister for Creative Industries was not attacking the opposition; he was only sharing his great and well-known love for French opera and ballet and tragic love stories.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I will reiterate that points of order are not an opportunity to have a debate. I do not uphold the point of order.

Colin BROOKS: There are the hapless leader, the fallen prince, the crusading queen from another place and the cast of traitorous, warring foot soldiers. I will not give away the plot, but it is a tale of hatred and vengeance and incompetence. We do not know how this tragedy ends, but I do agree with members opposite: it is a complete S-H-I-T show.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I would have thought that former Speaker Brooks would know that is unparliamentary language, even if you spell it out.