Thursday, 13 November 2025

 Steve DIMOPOULOS (Oakleigh – Minister for Environment, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Minister for Outdoor Recreation) (14:36): I rise to update the house on the fact that Melbourne is booming. You could have been one of the 250,000 people at the racing carnival, as the Minister for Racing and I were. Or if you were not at the racing carnival, you could have been at AC/DC at the MCG, at Oasis at Marvel, at international games week at Fed Square, at the T20 cricket match, Australia versus India, or at Ricky Martin, Mariah Carey or so many other events. In fact 1.7 million people attended sporting and cultural events in Melbourne within the month – 1.7 million people. This is not the Australian Open in January or mad March, this is October–November.

But it is not just about the joy of attending these events. It is not just about the international and national branding; it is actually about the jobs for everyday Victorians who work in this major events sector. We had 258,000 more room nights booked in Melbourne this calendar year compared to last calendar year – 258,000. That is about 700 extra jobs. That is more coffee makers, more housekeeping staff, more porters and more transport staff to get you to the hotel in the first place. In fact Marvel Stadium have 21,000 extra shifts in October and November. And we have backed the industry by getting kids into free TAFE – 8300 young people commenced hospitality and tourism training courses.

But there is another way. You could bag the place. You could criticise Melbourne and Victoria at every turn – on 3AW, at the back doors, at the front doors, on social media. You could criticise the place, hoping that your narrative gains traction despite the ton of evidence to the contrary. You could even call for the shrinking of the Grand Prix. You could even say the money spent on destination marketing was a waste. We will never talk down Melbourne and Victoria.