Tuesday, 9 December 2025

 Colin BROOKS (Bundoora – Minister for Industry and Advanced Manufacturing, Minister for Creative Industries) (14:20): Lovers of the performing arts have got an early Christmas present this year with the news that the Ian Potter State Theatre, our much-loved State Theatre, will be reopening six months earlier than expected, in October next year. Speaker, I know that you know that it is the biggest and best stage in Australia. The refurbished theatre will have new sound, new climate control and new safety features and will be more accessible. For the first time all three levels of the theatre will be accessible for people with mobility issues. It is part of the Labor government’s $1.7 billion transformation of the Melbourne arts precinct.

The State Theatre opened back in 1984, well after the member for Rowville was first elected to this Parliament. The first performance was the Australian Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty. I was there at the last performance before the refurbishment started, which was the Australian Ballet’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. There have been plenty of different adaptations of that particular classic. My favourite version is where Alice falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world where you can reduce debt, reduce taxes and spend more at the same time – what a fairytale. Alice then has to negotiate with the Mad Hatter’s tea party of former leaders and has to also avoid the menacing Queen of Hearts, with a propensity for dealing swiftly for people she does not like, who I have nicknamed Bev.

The first performance at the Arts Centre back in 1984 was not at the State Theatre –

Brad Rowswell: On a point of order, Speaker, in relation to standing order 118, which I know you will understand refers to imputations or improper motives, Speaker Andrianopoulos mentioned in Rulings from the Chair that making repeated references to a member or members does not necessarily need to mention the member’s name for it to be disorderly. I would ask you to counsel the minister accordingly.

The SPEAKER: The minister will be very careful with his ministers statement and not impugn other members of the Parliament.

Colin BROOKS: Actually the first performance back at the Arts Centre in 1984 was not in fact at the State Theatre, it was actually at the smaller Playhouse theatre in the same building. It was Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of Medea, which I think is probably the Leader of the Opposition’s favourite Greek tragedy. For those who are not aware of the Greek classics, let us just say that Medea has a ruthless streak and knocks off quite a few people around her. In fact in the Greek classic she even chops one bloke, Absyrtus, into pieces and throws him off a ship. The really unfortunate ones end up in Backroom Baz with a crisis tattoo.