Thursday, 5 March 2020

Questions without notice and ministers statements

AFL China match

Mr M O’BRIEN (Malvern—Leader of the Opposition) (11:01): My question is to the Premier. Given the Treasurer has announced $4 billion in budget cuts which will see jobs lost and services reduced, Premier, why is the government now paying the AFL for St Kilda Football Club to play a home game at their own home ground?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I warn the Minister for Mental Health and the member for Eltham. The Leader of the Opposition has the call.

Mr M O’BRIEN: I will repeat the question, which is to the Premier: given the Treasurer has announced $4 billion in budget cuts which will see jobs lost and services reduced, Premier, why is the government now paying the AFL for St Kilda Football Club to play a home game at their own home ground?

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (11:02): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. His characterisation of the forthcoming budget and the Treasurer’s comments is completely wrong—that is the first point to make.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I warn the member for Forest Hill.

Mr ANDREWS: Completely and utterly wrong. Shall I say it for a third time? Completely and utterly wrong. You can laugh and shout all you like.

Mr M O’Brien interjected.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition!

Mr ANDREWS: There are some who hope that if they say it often enough, it will suddenly come true. They did that for four years and look where they are now.

If the Leader of the Opposition seriously expects any member of this government to apologise for bringing visitors from other parts of our country—South Australia, for instance—to make sure that we have got a strong crowd—

Members interjecting

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier will resume his seat. On a point of order, the Leader of the Opposition.

Mr M O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is debating the question. The question is: why is he paying the AFL for St Kilda to play a home game at their own home ground? Where else was it going to go? It is their own home game at their own home ground.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition has made his point of order. I do not uphold it. The Premier is being relevant to the question asked.

Members interjecting.

Mr ANDREWS: Well, Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition might want to listen up. It may be news to the Leader of the Opposition, but of course the game was going to China—that is the first issue. Not the best question you have asked—well, where else could it go? It was supposed to go to China, my friend. Then it may well—

Members interjecting.

Mr ANDREWS: Well, this is the thing. Those who have put forward that they are all-knowing—at the end of the day it could have gone to Queensland, it could have gone to any number of different places. I just go back to the point I was making: if the Leader of the Opposition wants any member of the government to apologise for attracting visitors from South Australia to come to Melbourne, if he wants any member of the government to apologise for the Chinese community festival that will be run as part of this—I am pretty sure that the member for Box Hill is very pleased to see us taking real action to support the Chinese community when they are under incredible pressure at the moment, as is the member for Burwood, as is the member for Mount Waverley, as is, I hope, every member of this government—we will not apologise for supporting the Chinese community.

Mr M O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, the question is: why is this Premier becoming an ATM for the AFL? That is what Victorian taxpayers want to know.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition did not raise a valid point of order.

Mr ANDREWS: We saw in the lead-up to the 2018 election that this sort of line was run. It was run by someone else, who is not sitting up at the table anymore, and yet this line has continued. Keep going. Keep bagging footy fans. Keep bagging hospitality workers. Keep on expecting me to apologise for supporting the Chinese community. It is working so well for you!

Mr M O’BRIEN (Malvern—Leader of the Opposition) (11:06): Premier, you said you would be delivering the budget priorities of this government, yet you are giving more taxpayer money to the AFL, an organisation which is tax exempt and had a gross revenue of nearly $800 million last year. Premier, why is giving yet more taxpayer money to the AFL a higher priority to your government than fixing ballooning hospital waiting lists?

The SPEAKER: Order! Before calling the Premier to answer this question, the level of noise is excessive, so members are warned: if they shout across the chamber, they will be removed from the chamber without further warning.

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (11:06): I would advise the Leader of the Opposition: do not hold your breath waiting for me to take lectures on hospital services from you. It will not do your health any good. You will need medical care if you hold your breath waiting for me to be lectured by the likes of you on dealing with patients in public hospitals.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition!

Mr ANDREWS: You would have privatised the lot if you could.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Warrandyte! Was there a point of order?

Mr R Smith: That was it.

Mr ANDREWS: That is symptomatic—he turns up with much promise and then fails to deliver. It is the story of Warrandyte: such a close preselection but—oh!—a terrible outcome. He cannot deliver.

We make no apology for supporting jobs in our visitor economy. We make no apology for supporting the Chinese community at a very difficult time for the Chinese community—unfairly. We should not have to do that, but of course we rise to that occasion. And we certainly make no apology for making sure the game was not played in Brisbane.