Tuesday, 22 February 2022

Bills

Major Events Legislation Amendment (Unauthorised Ticket Packages and Other Matters) Bill 2021

Second reading

Debate resumed on motion of Ms PULFORD:

That the bill be now read a second time.

Mr ONDARCHIE (Northern Metropolitan) (13:02): I rise to speak on the Major Events Legislation Amendment (Unauthorised Ticket Packages and Other Matters) Bill 2021, a bill that was introduced into the lower house in November 2021. Here we are almost at March 2022—it took quite a while to walk the hallway, the 15 metres from there to here. In saying that, the intent of this bill is to amend the Major Events Act 2009 to enable further measures for regulating the secondary ticket market for major cultural and sporting events. Now, the government are planning to do this by preventing the unauthorised advertising or sale of ticket packages for sporting ticketed events and ticketed events for which a major events declaration has been made, requiring event organisers to keep a public register of authorised ticket package sellers and establishing mandatory requirements for any ticket resale advertisement for sporting ticketed events and ticketed events for which a major events declaration has been made. When I talk about major events I am talking about events not far away from us, like the Australian Formula One Grand Prix, which I am really looking forward to. I am really looking forward to the AFL Grand Final later this this year; I am looking forward to seeing Geelong play in that. And of course there are things like the Spring Racing Carnival, which, as members know, is one of my favourites.

The bill intends to close the loophole to stop the ticket scalping of bundled tickets. This will therefore support the important revenue stream for major events organisers which have an arrangement with authorised sellers to bundle tickets together into packages that add on things like travel and accommodation and hospitality. However, the selling of unauthorised ticket packages has been an increasing area of concern for consumers and event organisers. I will use that by way of example because Tennis Australia actually pointed this out: there have been some unauthorised sellers advertising misleading hospitality packages at substantially inflated prices where fans get a ticket to the event and as part of their hospitality they get a voucher for a hamburger. Rightly so, they are pretty annoyed that that was their hospitality. This was a way that unauthorised ticket sellers got around the scalping laws.

The proposal in this bill before us today is to amend the act to outlaw and prevent the sale of unauthorised ticket packages for declared major events but allow for ticket packages authorised by venue organisers to be sold through those accredited resellers. Each event organiser of a declared event will be required to publish a register on their event website, which will list the authorised sellers for each event, and authorised sellers will be able to state that they are authorised to do so when they are advertising. It will be an offence, should this bill pass, to falsely claim to be an authorised seller of ticket packages to a declared major event. This bill is designed to close that loophole. It will also provide opportunities to give consumers improved information about the real value of the ticket by requiring the resellers to provide the asking price, the face value price and the seating allocation of a ticket in any advertisement about reselling these tickets. Currently this does not apply to authorised sellers of bundled tickets and this bill is purely aimed at the unauthorised sellers, or as we call them colloquially, the scalpers.

There are a number of elements to this bill which, for the sake of the house, I will not go through line by line, but I want to say that there are some things that do concern me with this bill, particularly the time it has taken to come to us. The other states have had this in place for a long, long time and so once again the Andrews Labor government are playing catch-up. The original legislation that came through this place in 2017 should have dealt with this. They should have picked up the loopholes back then, and I know this because in the committee stage of the bill in 2017 in this chamber, representing the then shadow minister, the Honourable Heidi Victoria, I pointed out this exact loophole. In the committee stage I made the point to the minister at the table that this was a loophole that they had to deal with, and the government of the day said, ‘No. We’ve got it covered. It’s all okay’. And here we are, five years later, and it has finally arrived in this place after Heidi Victoria pointed out five years ago that this was a loophole. The government plays catch-up on a number of aspects.

This law applies to declared major events, and it is at the discretion of the minister. I have to say that I am really nervous about leaving things to the discretion of any ministers in this government. They chop, they change, they make decisions on the run and then they throw their hands in the air and go, ‘Oh, sorry, we messed it up so we have to bring back another bit of legislation to fix up our stuff-up’.

Mr Finn interjected.

Mr ONDARCHIE: As Mr Finn rightly interjects, they always say it is somebody else’s fault or they cannot recall who made the original decision in the first place. There may be some additional compliance costs for the organisers to publicly advertise and maintain a register of authorised sellers, and hopefully these costs will not be passed on to the consumers.

The AFL, Tennis Australia, Live Nation and others have been contacted and are generally accepting of the proposed changes in this bill today. They are pretty straightforward changes. They are there to protect the event organisers and, more importantly, protect consumers from scalpers. But there may be some concern for an individual who has purchased a corporate package and then for some reason cannot attend the event and would like to be able to sell it on to a mate. Under this bill, they will not be able to do that. If I said, ‘I’ve booked a ticket to the Australian Formula One Grand Prix’—I cannot imagine any reason why I would not go, but should there be a reason I could not go, I cannot then onsell my ticket to a mate and go, ‘Listen, I’ve got this ticket. It includes some hospitality and maybe some car parking and a range of other things, and of course you’ll get to watch Lewis Hamilton run around in his Mercedes, but I can’t go, so would you buy this off me?’. According to this, they cannot do it, so that is something that would be frustrating.

Mr Finn interjected.

Mr ONDARCHIE: Picking up your interjection, Mr Finn, I then cannot go back to the organiser and go, ‘Can you give me a refund because I can’t go?’, because that is not going to happen. So that is something that the government should have also thought about. But it is the way in this chamber—the opposition points out loopholes in legislation. The government may choose to amend this today should they acknowledge this other loophole that we have pointed out, or we might have to wait until 2027, when they finally wake up and bring it back to this place for another amendment. When we talk about major events, one way to get around the loophole we have identified today is by change of government in November this year. A Matthew Guy government will fix up this loophole pretty darn quickly.

But when it comes to talking about major events, the event industry has been hit pretty hard through this whole COVID pandemic. There has been little recognition of how hard it has been for the major events sector. The major events sector is now pretty well crippled under mountains of debt that have been accrued during the crisis. A number of the major banks have not sought to underwrite some of the major events and have left event organisers hanging. A lot of the people who had skills around events and lots of experience in this industry, especially in the technical areas, have moved on to other things. So we have a skills shortage also in the major events industry. I know through the personal involvement of people I know in the major events industry that they have gone to do other things because they have been left hanging by the Andrews Labor government. Because there is a significant lack of skills, a lot of businesses can only now run at a fraction of their capacity, so expecting them to get back on their feet is challenging, and they should be getting more support from the government. Maybe one of the ways we could do this is by introducing more events into Victoria.

I know when the government had their back to the wall last week on a whole range of things, late at night—maybe they were down in Portsea or somewhere else—and before they fell over they decided ‘What we’ll do is announce that we’re going to do a bid for the Commonwealth Games in a number—or a number—of years’. I am not sure the event industry can wait that long for this government to get its act together. An event-led recovery for Victoria should be a no-brainer. There should be opportunities for people to rejuvenate their businesses and provide some fun, some entertainment, for Victorians. The state opposition will not be opposing this bill today, but we encourage the government to get on with the business of fixing this stuff-up, to listen to the anomalies or the loopholes that the opposition identify in pieces of legislation and to support the major events industry, because it employs lots of people and gives Victorians lots of opportunity.

Ms TERPSTRA (Eastern Metropolitan) (13:12): It gives me great pleasure to rise and speak to this bill, the Major Events Legislation Amendment (Unauthorised Ticket Packages and Other Matters) Bill 2021. The background to this bill is that it will amend the Major Events Act 2009 to prohibit a person who is not authorised in writing by an event organiser from selling tickets within a package that includes other goods or services. The amendments will only apply to declared events. Also the amendments will require authorised sellers of ticket packages to state the authorised ticket package seller’s full name or business name and that they are authorised sellers in any advertisements and to state their ACN or ABN. The bill will create an offence for falsely claiming to be an authorised seller of ticket packages and will require event organisers to establish and maintain a register on their public event website of the authorised sellers of ticket packages for the duration of the event and provide a copy to the minister at the conclusion of the event. It will also establish mandatory requirements for any ticket package resale advertisement to display the asking price or intended sale price of the ticket, the face value price of the ticket and seat location details of the ticket.

‘Why is this important?’, I hear everyone ask. I am sure like many of us in this chamber, many Victorians love to go to major events. I know that I and my husband were very interested in attending Midnight Oil, and we are fortunate to have booked tickets. We also went last year when we were able to. What I know everyone will know and understand and relate to is that once these tickets are announced on the website, people wait to actually jump online and purchase them, and they are gone within a nanosecond. We all sit there on the computer clicking the refresh button waiting for them to come up, and they go very quickly. What then happens afterwards of course is that ticket resellers or others then repackage these tickets and sell them with other things.

There has been a lot of consternation over the years about this because sometimes—I mean, I have seen it myself—there are tickets on eBay or Gumtree or whatever, and the prices are exorbitant. They might also say that the tickets are for a particular seated area, and then when you go to the major event or whatever you find that they are actually not. So people can be very disappointed, and often it is not the fault of the original promoter but there are other ticket sellers and the like that can take advantage of that. So it can lead to disappointment and people feeling like they have been ripped off. And some of the prices, as I said before, are astronomical. I have seen some tickets that might be a couple of hundred dollars then advertised for $1000 and the like. So it can be very disappointing. I know Victorians love to go to their major events, especially live music. I am very partial to live music; I am sure many of us are. Isn’t that right, Minister? Yes. There are some great acts that we look forward to seeing coming up and coming back to Australian shores over the next year and beyond that.

But I might just, for example, talk about the Australian Open, which is a fantastic Victorian event. We are very fortunate to have a grand slam event here. As we all know, there are many, many international competitors who come down to Australia to compete—and what a fantastic event it was this year. The Australian Open is a key pillar of Victoria’s major events program. According to the Nielsen Sports report which was undertaken last year, it contributed an estimated $387 million to the state’s visitor economy. You can see what a huge benefit that has to our economy, and this is in addition to record-breaking Australian Open attendance. It attracts the biggest global broadcast audience in the history of the tournament. So again, the tournament is amazing; it is bigger than any one person. We all love to see Rafa, and I might say Ash Barty’s performance at this year’s Australian Open was an absolute stand-out. It is fantastic to see such a fantastic Australian doing us all proud on the world stage, and to see Evonne Goolagong present Ash with the trophy was absolutely a stand-out for that tournament.

It is incredible and, as I said earlier, record breaking: 812 174 fans went to the Open in 2020, of which 41 per cent were from intrastate and interstate and 13 per cent were from overseas. That was for 2020. And of course we look forward in the future to this tournament being well supported and patronised by international visitors. Importantly, 574 970 overnight stays were booked in Victoria as a result of the Australian Open in 2020, which provided a much-needed boost to our tourism and hospitality industries. The Nielsen Sports report also found that the yearly benefit of the Australian Open has increased by 142 per cent since the 2010 tournament, which generated an estimated $160 million in benefits to the state. The Victorian government has invested $1 billion over the past 10 years in upgrading and expanding Melbourne Park, and that investment has ensured that we will host the Australian Open at least until 2044. So, President, as you can see, the investment and the commitment that the Victorian government has to major sporting events are proving and providing a huge boost to our economy.

Of course we could not talk about major sporting events without talking about the Boxing Day test—again, a major sporting event that attracts so many visitors to our state but also over broadcasts. The Boxing Day test is broadcast to over 100 countries, and the test does attract visitors from interstate and overseas to Melbourne. Again, it is an incredible event, always well patronised locally, but we look forward to that going from strength to strength once that is possible, as we learn to live with the virus, and into the future. I am sure that will be, again, a very well patronised event.

Going back to the main point of this bill, these amendments, as I said, will amend the principal act. They are designed to strengthen the act by outlawing the backroom bundling of tickets with other items. It will make it an offence to advertise or sell a ticket package to a declared event without the written authorisation of the event organiser. So again, it is trying to squash out and squash down those backroom kinds of operators who can onsell and resell at inflated prices. The new measures will also guard against individuals and companies buying tickets and then obscuring inflated resale prices for seats in packages with hospitality experiences or other merchandise as well. The new bundling laws will require event organisers, as I said, to publish a register and the like. Companies will be required to state that they are authorised ticket sellers, and it will be an offence to falsely claim to be an authorised seller of ticket packages if you are not.

These are important amendments to the bill. Our 2018 report assessed the economic impact of major events, including key attractions such as the Australian Open, as I have just mentioned. For the Formula One Australian Grand Prix, which I have not mentioned, I know many Victorians also like to partake in watching the grand prix as well. There is the AFL Grand Final and the Spring Racing Carnival and one-off events such as at the Heide Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Victoria, and of course the NRL State of Origin at the MCG—so all of those events. The value of major events to the Victorian economy has soared to $2.53 billion a year. It is an increase of $700 million since the Andrews Labor government was first elected in 2014. Major events attracted almost 6.9 million international and interstate visitors to Victoria, up 24 per cent in two years, and direct jobs that were supported by major events also grew by 10 per cent, with a further 3350 people employed in the industry.

As you can see, these events are critical to the success of the Victorian economy. They bring in lots of money to our economy, and the benefits of course are obvious but there are also downstream benefits—you know, people coming in. They will go to an event but then they will stay in accommodation, hospitality. They will visit our restaurants. They will spend more money in our economy, whether it is buying merchandise or participating in other hospitality events, and as I said, the downstream benefits are also critically important. So it has kick-along effects on every other sector that supports these events.

I might just also talk about some of the major sporting events that have been covered by sports ticketing and event declaration or major ticketing declaration since June 2018 as well as events that are covered in the future. So the sorts of events that will be covered by these changes are the AFL Grand Final and Victorian AFL finals series matches but, importantly, also some theatre, music and arts events as well. Many people, I am sure, in this chamber and I am sure if you are playing along at home, would also agree with me that some of these events are amazing, and we are so fortunate to have them here in Australia.

I know the minister will like one of these: Bluey’s Big Play. It is a stellar event, an amazing event, and we are so fortunate to have that here. There is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child—we had it in 2018 and we had it in 2021—but also the Meredith Music Festival, the Golden Plains festival, Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Chicago, the Melbourne International Arts Festival, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Shrek: The Musical—like, how awesome is Shrek: The Musical? That is amazing. As I said, Bluey’s Big Play. Every Victorian kid loves Bluey. How popular is Bluey, Minister?

Mr Leane: I saw it.

Ms TERPSTRA: There you go; the Minister saw it. It is fantastic, Bluey’s Big Play. You cannot get any better. In 2021 we had the Rising festival, Seasons in Blak Box, the Patricia Piccinini exhibition—

Mr Ondarchie: On a point of order, President, just on relevance, the member is outlining a number of events including a festival in the Golden Plains shire, which I cannot find a record of being a major event. I thought we were talking about major events here, so I just question it on relevance.

Ms TERPSTRA: Further to the point of order, President, in addition to the major events that I outlined earlier, like the Australian Open and the like, there are events that have been covered by sports ticketing event declarations. It is not just major events, so perhaps the member, if he listened more closely to what this act is actually about, would understand that it is major events but also events that have been declared. It is directly relevant to the bill.

The PRESIDENT: Thank you for raising the point of order, but unfortunately I cannot uphold it. I think it is within your contribution.

Ms TERPSTRA: Thank you, President, and as I said—

Members interjecting.

Ms TERPSTRA: Yes, it is most unfortunate. Perhaps if the member were to actually read the bill that is before the house, he might have understood that. I will go on. There is Moulin Rouge! The Musical and the 2021 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces: French Impressionism from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. There are so many fantastic things that we can have here in Melbourne, and that is why it is important that these changes that will be brought in will not only cover major event ticketing but anything that is declared as a major event. So I thought I would just educate those opposite on that for the moment.

Again, this is critically important to our economy. The upstream and downstream kick-on effects or flow-on effects from these events are critically important, and they just provide so much benefit to our economy and support jobs as well. In terms of stakeholders, the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions has distributed a discussion paper to over 30 stakeholders and organisations, so we have consulted widely and broadly. The majority of feedback taken in regard to the proposal was supportive and positive, and written feedback was received from a number of organisations as well.

Tennis Australia is also supportive of the changes, including information disclosure requirements around seat number, row and aisle and the identity of the seller. Again, this is critically important so we have full accountability and transparency for consumers. In fact it is also akin to consumer protection because, as I said earlier, sometimes when you are buying these tickets online it does not accurately tell you the seat or where it is in the arena or the area that you are watching the show from, so you think you are getting a premium seat perhaps or something close to the stage and it winds up that you are in the backblocks and you cannot see and you need binoculars to see. That is very disappointing, so this is an added layer of consumer protection for people who might be wanting to buy tickets after they have been sold by the original ticket seller. As I said, from a consumer perspective purchasers will have that protection and certainty over the ticket they are sold and will avoid the disappointment of their seats not matching what was advertised and what they purchased. Tennis Australia noted:

… with some minor, key amendments to the Act, we believe regulators and major event organisers will be better equipped to prevent ticket scalping practices.

So again, the people who put on these major events are supportive of these changes. The Australian Football League is supportive, Live Performance Australia is supportive, eBay is supportive and Gumtree is supportive as well—the majority of stakeholders. I will leave my contribution there as I know there are other people who want to speak to this bill as well, but I commend this bill to the house.

Sitting suspended 1.27 pm until 2.03 pm.

Ms BURNETT-WAKE (Eastern Victoria) (14:03): I rise to make a contribution on the Major Events Legislation Amendment (Unauthorised Ticket Packages and Other Matters) Bill 2021. I will not be opposing the bill; as Mr Ondarchie said, the opposition will not be. This bill at its core intends to address the longstanding issue of scalping. The government attempted to address this issue with the Major Events Legislation Amendment (Ticket Scalping and Other Matters) Bill 2017; however, unintended loopholes and deficiencies have arisen in that legislation, which my colleague Mr Ondarchie so eloquently put earlier, and this bill goes to addressing them.

Scalping has never been fair and it is not right. We can all relate to feeling excited at the prospect of seeing your favourite band or singers upon announcement they will tour Australia, or if there is a major sporting event coming up. There is a sense of excitement and anticipation to get tickets to attend. You log on to your computer with eager anticipation, only to find the tickets were sold out the moment they were released. That is one of the biggest issues with scalping—the day one fans, the fans that were with the bands or the groups that they follow from the very beginning, are missing out to the benefits of scalpers looking to package these tickets and make a quick buck.

This legislation makes a clear distinction between those who can and cannot package tickets, and I think that is key. Packages can be a great way to book an experience. You do not have to worry about where you will eat or where you will stay. Under these proposed laws a balance is struck between the good packages and the packages by those who are not authorised. This bill should prevent consumers paying thousands for a $200 ticket to the footy coupled with a pie and a cheap motel for the night.

In Victoria we are spoilt for choice when it comes to major events. Most recently we hosted the tennis, and prior to 2020 you could catch a concert, sporting event, arts exhibition or car race at a number of our major recreation centres. This state really does have so much to offer, and we really need to get that back after the longest lockdown in the world. In Eastern Victoria we have the Phillip Island motorbike grand prix and a number of events in the smaller communities that may not be major but are meaningful events for those that live there and the community groups that dedicate time to organise them. Who does not love A Day on the Green in the Yarra Ranges, part of my region? These events not only bring significant economic value to our regions but are an integral part of the community and a wonderful place for people to come together. We really do have so much to offer once we open up fully again. It is important that we support these events and the organisers to get Melbourne back up there as the most livable city in the world.

Mr GEPP (Northern Victoria) (14:06): I rise to speak on the Major Events Legislation Amendment (Unauthorised Ticket Packages and Other Matters) Bill 2021.

Mr Finn: Are you going to the grand final?

Mr GEPP: I will take up that early interjection from Mr Finn. It will give me the opportunity to talk about a couple of major events that I have actually attended in recent years and why this bill is so important. I remember, Mr Finn, when scalping was nothing more than a dandruff problem, but now of course we have seen it blown out over many, many years. As Ms Burnett-Wake said, Victoria is the home of all major sporting and major events. We have so much to offer, and it is important for our citizens that they have confidence in the ticket sale structure so that they can participate in any of the events that are held—and I will come to a few of those in a minute. There is a very long list of them, and I will refer to many of them. But it is important that they are actually able to attend and know that they are getting good value for money and that they are not being ripped off, and of course that is at the heart of the bill.

This bill will amend the act to prohibit a person who is not authorised in writing by an event organiser to sell tickets within a package that includes other goods or services, and the amendments will apply of course to declared events. Amendments will also require authorised sellers of ticket packages to state the authorised ticket package seller’s full name or business name, that they are authorised sellers in any advertisements and to state their ACN or ABN. So you can see right off the bat that there are many checks and balances in this bill—

Ms Taylor interjected.

Mr GEPP: Ms Taylor, it is an excellent bill and one that will serve the people of Victoria and indeed the many thousands of people who come from interstate to attend many of the major sporting events and cultural events.

Mr Erdogan: Mr Gepp, is the AFL Grand Final a major event?

Mr GEPP: The AFL Grand Final is indeed a major event, of course, particularly when it is held in Victoria. When it is held in Victoria there is nothing bigger. When it is held elsewhere it is probably not quite as big but nonetheless still has the same level of importance. The chamber might not be familiar with this, but I actually support the Richmond Football Club, and the Tigers played in a couple of very major events in 2017 and 2019 here on the hallowed turf of the MCG. Importantly, more than 100 000 people attended both of those events. I am not sure that there were quite that many when Collingwood played, but anyway I digress. Certainly when the Tigers played there were over 100 000 people. Importantly every person who attended that event knew the seat and knew the price of the seat and indeed the package that they were purchasing up-front, because they were authorised ticket sellers and people were aware in advance of who was selling them their ticket, what the price of the ticket was and actually where they would be situated. Of course we have all heard the horror stories where people turn up to events only to find that their ticket, through unauthorised sellers in various parts of the world, has been resold 10 times, if the seat actually existed in the particular stadium.

I did have the benefit of attending the 2017 and 2019 AFL grand finals, and I must admit I did have an interest there.

Ms Watt interjected.

Mr GEPP: No, no. I did. You have drawn it out of me, Ms Watt. You have drawn it out of me. I was not going to make mention of it, but I did.

Mr Ondarchie interjected.

Mr GEPP: If you reckon that’s boring, wait until you get through another 8 minutes, because I could tell you quarter by quarter what happened. But I will not go down that path. And I am being a bit flippant, but I do not want to diminish the importance of the bill because it is a very significant bill and these are very significant amendments to the act which will give people that certainty around the packages and the tickets that they are buying. There is nothing more abhorrent, is there, and it is basic theft when somebody is purporting to sell a ticket that they are not authorised to sell and indeed have no capacity to sell. It is tantamount to theft. That is what it is: it is tantamount to theft. They are taking money. They are using people’s allegiance to their sporting teams, perhaps, and leveraging off that to swindle people out of money. So whilst I do jest and digress slightly from the bill, it should not be taken that this is not a bill that is of great significance to the people of Victoria and, as I said, even indeed the people of Australia, because we know that there are only certain events that are held in this great state.

Of course the Australian Open—I have heard previous speakers refer to the Australian Open. How lucky are we here in this town of Melbourne, in this state of Victoria? There are only four open grand slam tournaments right around the world, and we hold one of them here. It is so important to participants in that sport, the many thousands of people, and we saw them vote with their feet and attend the recent Australian Open tennis. And we all congratulate the winner of that tournament, Rafa Nadal. I think it is fair to say that the very vast majority of Victorians and reasonable people in this country were certainly supporting Rafa through that tournament and really cheering him on. And of course the great result for women’s tennis—wasn’t it magnificent to see our own Ash Barty, who, I might also say, happens to support the Tigers, just as a bit of an aside—

Members interjecting.

Mr GEPP: No, she does. And anybody who may have caught a glimpse of the third premiership, which I have not talked about yet, the 2020 flag of the mighty Tigers, which was held at the Gabba—it was played at the Gabba. We actually played another Victorian team, Geelong, but we took them out for a walk around the Gabba and showed them a little bit of what for. But anyone who saw that game on TV would have seen Ash Barty cheering for the mighty Tigers in the stands, and what a wonderful thing it was. But it was even more wonderful—yes, even more wonderful—to see Ash just a few short weeks ago win one of only four grand slam tournaments here in her own country. I think she is probably an adopted Victorian. Let us say that. She has got a Victorian footy team, so I think she is an adopted Victorian. To see her hoist that trophy aloft, the first Australian woman to do so since the mighty Evonne Goolagong Cawley—it was equally wonderful to see Evonne present Ash with the trophy, two very proud Indigenous women who stood up before the nation, before the world, and did so wonderfully well for this country. We salute Ash and Evonne and all of the wonderful Indigenous sports women and men who have participated on the global stage.

Mr Finn: I think Cotch was there as well.

Mr GEPP: Yes, he was, Mr Finn, indeed—the former captain. There are many, many sporting events, as I said, but what we should not forget are the theatre, music and arts events that we also attract to this wonderful state and this wonderful city of Melbourne and why this bill is so important to the protection and integrity of those events. Again, people want value for money, and they get value for money when they go to some of these very high-end productions that we see indeed just across the road here from Parliament House and in many of the wonderful theatres. And of course music events, whether they are at Rod Laver Arena just down the road, or they might be at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl or at many of the other fantastic venues around the City of Melbourne but more broadly in Victoria, are so important.

A couple of weeks ago I actually attended the Red Hot Summer Tour in Bendigo. It was one of the first live music events. I love live music. I go as often as I possibly can. It was so magnificent to turn up and see thousands of thousands of people at the Bendigo race club enjoying out in the open some marvellous, marvellous Australian music acts. But again, it was very, very important that you were able to purchase those tickets online, you knew who you were buying the ticket from, you knew how much you were purchasing the ticket for and you had all of the information available to you to be able to go along and enjoy that concert in the manner in which it was promoted, knowing full well that you understood what you were getting before you walked through the gate.

Last Friday I also had the opportunity—again, this is so important—to officially open the Echuca Riverboats Music Festival. I was on the mighty Murray, and there I was on the paddle-steamer with David Frazer, who is a magnificent young man who has been organising that event for 10 years now. He started it from scratch. They get 6000 people who come into the township of Echuca every year to participate in that music festival, which goes Friday, Saturday and Sunday—over the course of a weekend—and it is estimated that each one of those 6000 people spends on average $700 over the course of that weekend. They pump that into the local economy and, impressively, 73 per cent of the 6000 have an overnight stay in Echuca.

So you can see the importance of these events, whether it is sport, whether it is music, whether it is theatre, whether it is the arts. Do not get me started on the arts. We have the beautiful art silo trail right throughout regional Victoria. You have got to go past many of them, particularly Rochester, which is just down the road from Echuca. When you go past the silo art there in Rochester on the way through to Echuca—well, you do from Bendigo anyway; I am sure there are people that come from other directions—seeing the magnificent kingfisher there in the silo art is just wonderful. It is so important that these events are able to be held with the integrity that we expect in Victoria, and we can do so knowing that there is legislation that protects consumers of those particular events. I talked about Rochester, and of course they have got magnificent art as you come into the place. I will not go on and on about Rochester, but it is a wonderful place.

Mr Ondarchie interjected.

Mr GEPP: Mr Ondarchie, I do not know the last time you visited Rochester, but next time you are on your way to the Echuca races can I urge you to stop at Rochester and have a look at the beautiful street art that they have got and the beautiful silo art on your way to participate in a fantastic event. It can be any event—the Echuca Cup, what a wonderful day that is. I have been to it on many, many occasions. But importantly what I have been able to do is go to those things knowing how much I am going to pay and who is going to be providing the tickets.

Mr Ondarchie: Rochester—a major event.

Mr GEPP: Rochester is a major event. It can be a major event if we put it on the map. I am happy to put Rochester on the map. It is a wonderful part of Northern Victoria and leads so beautifully to the Murray up there on the border and to the twin towns of Echuca and Moama.

On those notes I will leave my contribution. Suffice to say that this is a very, very important piece of legislation. It will give Victorians who participate in all of the major sporting, theatre, music and arts events throughout our beautiful city of Melbourne and our beautiful state of Victoria a lot of confidence that this government, the Andrews Labor government, has got their back when it comes to purchasing tickets and enjoying these magnificent events.

Mr ERDOGAN (Southern Metropolitan) (14:22): That is a tough act to follow. I rise also to support the Major Events Legislation Amendment (Unauthorised Ticket Packages and Other Matters) Bill 2021—

Mr Gepp: But do you support the Tigers?

Mr ERDOGAN: No. As a supporter of the Magpie army I guess my reflection on those grand finals is quite different. I also had the pleasure—well, displeasure, in hindsight—of attending the 2019 grand final. I was going to say ‘pleasure’, but I think I left before the final siren went, actually.

Mr Gepp: So did Collingwood.

Mr ERDOGAN: It was Greater Western Sydney, actually—GWS and Richmond. As a Victorian I was very happy for the Tigers supporters obviously. The MCG is on the border of Richmond and East Melbourne, and that part of our city is a beautiful part.

Mr Gepp: Were you selling records?

Mr ERDOGAN: Yes, you could say that, Mr Gepp, thank you. No, I was not selling any records, but it was an interesting grand final to be at. These reforms and the importance of Victoria’s major events we should all be well across, especially those of us on the Economy and Infrastructure Committee. We had an inquiry into the impacts of COVID-19 on the tourism and events sector. Mr Gepp will be well versed, and so will Mr Finn and other members of the committee that took part in that inquiry.

A member interjected.

Mr ERDOGAN: Yes, the Deputy President, Ms Lovell. We travelled across regional Victoria and heard about the great effect this global pandemic has had on the events and tourism sectors. It comes as no surprise that as a government we are taking action to protect the sector, because as Mr Gepp reflected, these reforms are about consumers but they are also important reforms for protecting the organisers of these events who take the risk and take the initiative. They say, ‘We’ve got a big picture. We want to put on a show for people’.

Mr Gepp: They take on the risk.

Mr ERDOGAN: They take on the risk—exactly, Mr Gepp. The risk is important. They take on that risk and they reap the rewards, and that is what this legislation is about. It is about ensuring that they are protected, because obviously right now there are instances we are hearing about of unscrupulous people buying a ticket, say, for $100 and then onselling it for $200—double the price—without disclosing that, taking unfair advantage of consumers. Event organisers have told us that, because obviously there has been significant stakeholder engagement in preparation for this bill. On that point I will also acknowledge the work of Minister Pakula—he has done great work in that portfolio fighting for our major events sector—and also Minister Pulford for her work with the businesses broadly affected downstream from the events sector, because there is an interplay, as we heard during our inquiry.

Mr Gepp: We’ve got two better ministers, I reckon.

Mr ERDOGAN: Well, that is right, fantastic ministers and a lot of great work they are doing in these portfolios.

A member interjected.

Mr ERDOGAN: Ministers Pakula and Pulford—amazing work on major events. We are the major events capital of the country, so they are promoting Victoria. They are not talking it down. Actually, because this bill has bipartisan support I will focus on the bill, but they talk up the state’s work, they do not talk it down. I think it is important to understand that these events do take place in our state. They are obviously frequented by large numbers of people, and people travel from across the country and globally to attend our major events. We have got the grand prix on, and obviously—

A member interjected.

Mr ERDOGAN: Yes, the grand prix. Mr Gepp referred to Bendigo, Echuca and Rochester, and it came to mind. And as a government we were talking about taking major events to the regions—the Commonwealth Games in 2026—so, who knows, maybe Rochester could provide the pub on the way, Mr Finn, that you referred to. What is the name of the pub, Mr Finn? It is important that when people go out to these major events such as the Commonwealth Games they visit the local pubs.

A member interjected.

Mr ERDOGAN: Exactly—the flow-on economic effects to the regions are crucial. In the lead-up to these kinds of major events, which, for example, the Commonwealth Games may be, it is important that the organisers are protected and that consumers are informed—they know what they are getting. Mr Gepp talked about knowing what you are getting, and that is an important point because sometimes when these tickets are onsold, people do not know their seating allocation and there is no full disclosure of what the face value is of these tickets and what they are being sold for, so I think that is an important consideration.

But this bill before the house is not something new. As I said, I am a supporter of the Magpie army, and every Anzac Day there are articles about this, about how people have been taken advantage of in terms of the onselling of Anzac Day tickets. This bill sets a limit of a 10 per cent increase on the value of those tickets, so it ensures that consumers are protected in that way. And it makes sure that, if there is going to be packaging or repackaging of these tickets for these major events, it is done in a way where it is authorised, with the participation of those event organisers who have taken on the risk and who are putting on the show for all of us. It is important that they benefit from the taking place of the events. The impact of major events—during our inquiry we heard, and EY told us—is a $2.5 billion benefit to our state economy, and a crucial revenue stream is through ticket allocation and ensuring that the organisers have the sole authority to onsell these tickets.

This bill will amend the Major Events Act 2009 in a few consequential ways that will bring great comfort to Victorian consumers. The bill will, firstly, prevent unauthorised advertising or resale of tickets for declared major events that are packaged with other goods or services. Resellers authorised by respective event organisers will be exempt from this prohibition, with the understanding that if event organisers wish them to package them they should be able to do so.

Secondly, it institutes mandatory requirements for any ticket resale advertisements for such events. That is that consumer protection angle that we have discussed and that previous speakers Mr Gepp and Ms Terpstra have also highlighted. They include requiring authorised sellers of ticket packages to state their authorisation, full name or business name and ACN or ABN. The resellers will also be mandated to display important information about the ticket to make sure consumers are fully aware of the ticket’s details and the premium they are paying during the purchase.

Third, these amendments will be implemented alongside the creation of an offence for falsely claiming to be an authorised ticket package seller. To support the enforcement of the new offence, event organisers will have to establish and maintain a register of authorised sellers of ticket packages for the duration of the event. The register will be displayed on the public website, and they will provide a copy to the responsible minister at the conclusion of the event.

The background to this bill is important as well because it builds on significant work that has already been done in this space, in particular significant amendments that were made to the act only a few years ago. A set of amendments introduced in 2018 expanded the range of major events that could be protected under ticket scalping laws. While previously only applicable to sporting events like the AFL Grand Final, the amendments empower the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events to introduce a major event ticketing declaration for major sporting and cultural events alike. This will support events like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Hamilton under the protection of anti-ticket-scalping laws. And that is fantastic because, as many of you would know, I was in the city last week and I was amazed at the amount of activity returning to our CBD. I was heartened. It was fantastic to see. Many of the guests were attending the Harry Potter shows, and in between they were eating and dining at some of the great establishments that we have across our CBD. So again the flow-on effects that these major events bring, the transportation—and Mr Barton is not here, but the taxis and other commercial passenger vehicles—that was also used to get to and from these events is all part of that. It was our government department and ministers that were responsible for bringing these events to our great state.

For such declared events the act makes it an offence to advertise, offer to resell or resell a ticket for more than 10 per cent over the purchase price unless authorised in writing by the event organiser. The 10 per cent threshold allows legitimate resellers to cover any administrative costs incurred while purchasing the original ticket. In this way several Victorian icons, like the Australian Open, Boxing Day test and Shrek the Musical, will not be susceptible to the predatory practices of a few.

Prohibiting ticket packages is another aspect to this bill. In particular the amendments are framed in such a way that ticket scalping provisions only apply to the advertised reselling of tickets to declared events. These provisions did not specifically address instances where the price of tickets is masked by being bundled together. As a result, some ticket resellers began creating their own ticket packages without the authorisation of the event organisers. These dubious attempts to circumvent ticket scalping laws masked the face value price of a ticket within the ticket package. An example of this consists of a $100 Australian Open ticket and an Australian Open cap together that would be advertised for $300, claiming the ticket was being sold at its face value, while the cap cost $200 if you were to break it down at true face value. In other instances, a $300 event package may include a ticket along with a social function at venues not necessarily convenient to the event. It is inconsistent that individuals are unable to resell tickets to a declared major event in the secondary ticket market at a premium over 10 per cent while other sellers gouge consumers by selling tickets as part of a bundle, so this is an important reform that will again protect consumers and event organisers.

The bill will close a loophole without prohibiting ticket packages authorised by event organisers to be sold. This exemption is an important part to safeguard legitimate and authorised ticket packages which may constitute a key part of the organiser’s financial and ticketing strategy for staging an event. And I can say these ticket packages, especially to authorised and legitimate events, are quite popular. People like the idea of some fine dining, enjoying the best that Melbourne has to offer but also enjoying some theatre or sport to go with that. So it is fantastic that this exemption exists to protect the legitimate operators.

The amendment is also intended be enforced, with only minor administrative changes, by event organisers. Enforcement is always important when you make laws such as these. It is one thing to have a law and a set of regulations. It is another thing to do the enforcement the right way. It goes a step further by requiring ticket resellers to provide the original face value price of the ticket, the resale price and information such as seat details and location in any advertisements or offers of resale for declared major events. Currently there are only few requirements relating to the product information that must be provided by ticket resellers in their advertisements or offers of sale. These advertisements often considerably limit information regarding the ticket, leading to consumers being unaware of the location of the seats they are purchasing as well as the original face value. As a result, consumers and the Australian Tax Office are limited in identifying if a ticket is being sold within 10 per cent of the original price. In addition consumers are potentially misled into paying more for a ticket in the belief that the higher price is justified by the location of the ticket. These reforms provide a fairer ticket resale market for all consumers, not only those in Victoria but those coming from interstate and overseas, to enjoy the major events we host.

These amendments will bring great relief to our critical major events sector by ensuring the economic benefits generated by authorised ticket packages go to promoters and event organisers who undertake the risks of organising these events. In turn, local and international artists, performers and athletes who will compete and perform are benefited rather than those who are preying on fans. Major events have always been a key component of Victoria’s fabric, and the industry has grown by over $700 million since this Victorian government was elected in 2014. These events have attracted almost 6.9 million international and interstate visitors to our great state and supported nearly 3500 direct jobs. It is important to remember our place as Australia’s major event capital and that there is ongoing stiff competition to maintain this position. I think a great way to maintain this position is by ensuring that consumers are protected. Robust ticketing anti-scalping laws are a crucial factor in encouraging event organisers to continue staging events in Victoria and protecting our title as the major events capital.

In light of this I think it goes without saying that I commend the bill to the house. It is an important piece of work. I commend the ministers and the staff for bringing it to the chamber after such an extended time and large consultation. On that note, I commend the bill to the house.

Mr QUILTY (Northern Victoria) (14:36): I will be brief. I rise today to speak in favour of ticket scalping. This is part of our ongoing series of unpopular opinions that are economically sensible. In much the same way as my colleague Mr Barton rails against Uber surge pricing, it is generally seen as a bad thing when someone buys a ticket and then resells it for more money. But this is a mistake. There are two ways to deal with the scarcity of a resource: the free market way, raising the price; and the socialist way, rationing and queueing. The iron law of supply and demand applies to tickets to events every bit as much as it applied to potatoes in the Soviet Union. In reality, scalping can only occur when tickets, for whatever reason, are sold below their market value by the event organiser.

Instead of the promoters selling tickets at the prices people are prepared to pay for them, they set lower prices and accordingly create a shortfall. People need to join a queue to buy them at a cost of time, or they need to join an online scrum trying to fight their way through ticketing sites to purchase. If you are a person who cannot afford to stand in a queue or at the box office lottery, you miss out even if you are someone who is willing to pay more to secure a ticket, if attending the event is worth far more to you than someone who secured a ticket. It is tough luck, suck it up.

The scalper is a hero who steps into the breach matching the people who most want tickets, those who are willing to pay the most for them, with the tickets that they need. Just as the Uber swoops in to get you home, at a premium, when you are stuck out at night and the taxis are many, many hours away, the scalper is a problem solver—for a profit of course. The profit is a reward we give for delivering needed goods and services. It puzzles me that there is even still a problem with the supply of tickets for the government to be solving today. There is no rational reason scalpers should have to play their role; event organisers should be capable of filling the role themselves. Timed release of tickets, ticket auctions—there are plenty of ways the organiser could ensure that they extract the surplus in the situation rather than scalpers. Frankly, I have a strong suspicion that government regulations prevent event organisers from taking advantage of discriminatory pricing thus forcing scalpers into the breach to take up the slack. The next thing you know we will be seeing the government having to subsidise the event industry because they are not making enough money. What are the chances of that?

To touch on the substance of the bill for just a moment, banning the curation of bundled packages that include tickets is going to impact on charities and local organisations that use such bundling for fundraising. This is not so much an unintended consequence as an indifference to consequences from the government. To sum up, free market is good, government regulation is bad. This bill is nothing but a solution in search of a problem. The Liberal Democrats do not support this bill.

Ms SHING (Eastern Victoria) (14:39): He may have been brief, but the speaker who preceded me has thrown a cat amongst the pigeons of free market economics that in and of itself probably warrants a crowd of 30 000 and therefore as such warrants a declaration as a major event in and of itself.

I want to talk today with the time that I have available, which will never be enough because I have always got more to say, about the nature of the events—live events, festivals, musicals, culture, performance, installation and exhibits—across Melbourne, the outer urban areas, the peri-urban fringe, the regional towns and centres and indeed our rural locations as well. What I want to do is talk about some of the things that are going to benefit from this bill, as enacted in legislation, to provide a measure of clarity, transparency and consistency in the way in which events are able to be attended by patrons and spectators and the way in which there is regulation to minimise and indeed to remove the short shrift which audience members and attendees often receive when they sign up for something which does not materialise or when in fact they are—and I have never understood why this is an insult—sold a pup in terms of a bundled package deal for dinner and a show, for example.

I did hear before the really long list of wonderful productions, exhibits, installations and events that Ms Terpstra took us through. It was a shame that this was the subject of a point of order, indicating that those opposite have not read the bill and therefore do not understand the nature of a declaration which can be made and is indeed regulated by this particular amendment to the existing legislation. But what I do want to do is to touch on the way in which this bill will, upon its passage, make for a better system of facilitating access to our events calendar. And what a calendar it is.

I was actually asking our extraordinarily efficient and very long suffering whip, Ms Taylor, about whether anyone had mentioned Hamilton, and I was told no, nobody had mentioned Hamilton. And so I am going to do that. I will put on the record that we will in fact shortly see a large-scale musical event, a spectacular, come to Melbourne to continue the extraordinary line-up of events that really do put us front and centre of the Australian stage and create a groundswell of audience numbers and also the knock-on consequences of attendance at these shows by virtue of dinners, pre-show drinks and weekends spent in Melbourne—and we know that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was one of these examples—whereby multiple shows equal opportunities for people to stick around and to enjoy all that Melbourne has to offer.

When I listened to contributions from those opposite which talked about the uncertain and indeed very distressing state of the centre of Melbourne in the midst of the most stringent of restrictions that we have seen in the last two years, the thing that came to my mind was the sheer relief now being felt, not just as a consequence of the announcement we have made today around $300 million of support for businesses and traders, not just in Melbourne but all around the country, not just for everyone but targeted towards specific groups to improve and enhance access. I also thought that it is in fact measures like these which will come as music to the ears of some of our fiercest advocates for reopening and supporting an economy which is strong and vibrant and which has at its heart one of the most colourful arts and culture line-ups you will find anywhere in Australia. Up there with our coffee, it is to my mind second to none.

So when I think about the way in which this sits overall within a package of stimulus and recovery announcements, I think about—and this has been flagged before by Mr Erdogan, and also by Mr Ondarchie when he was on his feet—the exclusive negotiations which are commencing to attract the Commonwealth Games for 2026 to Victoria with a unique pitch, departing from our earlier hosting of these games, within regional and rural Victoria to showcase the very best of what we have to offer. It brings to mind the changes that are enacted by this particular bill. It brings to mind the focus on equity and on access to opportunity for audiences and for showgoers, for spectators, for sports fans, for art lovers and for people who love to see musical theatre time and time and time and time again. I do know that there are many friends of mine who have seen the same production at least four or five times and love to enjoy these sorts of events as singalongs. These are the sorts of things that will be at the direct heart of benefits conferred by this legislation.

It is not just about the grand prix, it is not just about the Australian Open, it is not just about large-scale grand slams, it is not just about the return to full capacity for the grand final and it is not just about making sure that we are competing on an international stage for the sorts of events that will really put us front and centre of an increasing number of different offerings; it is about the way in which we are sending a message of consistency in the way in which the events space is regulated. So when we think about something like the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces—and it was a joy as Parliamentary Secretary for Creative Industries to attend this event and to speak in support of it at the time that the media call took place and then when it opened—it is not just about partnering with international organisations and some of the institutions, the luminaries of our arts and cultural world, it is about making sure that this government sends an unambiguous message to event organisers and to promoters to leave no doubt about the fact that we take the regulation of major events seriously and that in doing so we want to create an environment in trade and commerce on the one hand and in consumption and enjoyment and spectating on the other that levels the playing field and reduces and to the best extent possible removes the risk of people getting short shrift.

I touched on bundling before, and one of the things that is important about this and about the nature of removing the access to bundling as it has previously occurred is something which I would have thought those opposite would be particularly supportive of in that it is about transparency and it is about accountability. It is about saying that should you wish to bundle up a ticket to a show in the C seats and get yourself a happy meal or equivalent, you can then pay an extra $40 or $50 with a bump-up at the bottom line of the promoter’s ticket offering that will in fact mean that you have gotten value for money. And it is a ‘tale as old as time’, to quote Beauty and the Beast, another wonderful musical which has in fact graced world stages for many years, that these sorts of opportunities are often seized upon to have a greater carve-out or indeed some might argue a gouging component that removes the clear distinction between the cost of a ticket on the one hand and the add-on on the other. Making sure that we have the opportunity to regulate this is important. I would have thought that those within the Liberal Democrats would understand the importance of making sure that there is a fair deal and that people from their electorates are not in fact getting a raw deal and are not in fact vulnerable to exploitation, simply because they want to get a ticket and the only option that they have is to pay a jacked-up price that includes a dinner or a glass of something sparkling beforehand.

I want to acknowledge the work that has gone into developing these changes, and this is about making sure that investment attraction, including in the events space, is done in a way that brings everybody along and making sure that we are preventing unauthorised advertising or resale of tickets as bundled—which I have taken both of those people watching from home along the journey of today—but also making sure that we have mandatory requirements for ticket resale advertisements for major sporting events subject to that sports ticketing event declaration or major events subject to a major event ticketing declaration.

I am going to put it on the record now: I have never played sport particularly well. In fact I do not play sport well at all. I am happy to fess up for the record—and you are not going to get an explanatory statement from here following what I am about to say—I have no catch reflex whatsoever. I was asked to leave the netball team when I was in about grade 5, and I have never returned to the auspicious role of wing defence since. However—

Members interjecting.

Ms SHING: Well, it is nice to know that I have some compatriots here who, like me, were consigned for all time to cut oranges at half-time. What I do want to say, however, is: put me in front of a Wallabies game, put me in front of a clash with New Zealand or South Africa, and I am a happy, happy camper. There are few sports about which I know the code and fewer sports about which I know the rules, but having said that, there is a lot to be said about being caught up in the fervour of a major event, the electricity of a large crowd—and haven’t we missed that in the last couple of years? We have seen what has been achieved in recent weeks, even, with our various pride celebrations and cups, with the Australian Open—the triumphant victory of Ash Barty—and despite the fact that I cannot call a foot fault to save myself, I was still swept up as much as anybody else in the enormous tenacity, energy and indeed metaphoric victory of it all when Ash claimed the title. I was there leaping like Tom Cruise onto my couch at home in favour of Raf Nadal bringing it home—five sets, what an extraordinary effort. I could not run around a tennis court twice without probably running out of puff, but gee, I was able to sit at home with my Bega cheese cubes and my Savoy and cheer everybody along.

And this is what it is about—it is about participation, it is about making sure that when we line up with our tickets to get into a venue or a stadium, we know what we are going to get, that the experience that we have as viewers, as aficionados, as fans or indeed as people like me, who are completely mystified but happy to go along for the ride, is an opportunity for everybody to partake in a way that adds to this city’s vibrancy, that adds to the extraordinary colour and movement of everyday life and of special events and occasions right across the state.

I am looking forward to seeing that these sorts of schema that encourage and indeed promote and indeed deliver greater transparency and accountability can be brought into effect around Australia and can in fact lead to a level playing field, which in the aggregate brings more international events to our shores and in fact continues the extraordinary contribution of creative arts and industries and of major sporting and other events to Victoria. Mr Erdogan referred to 3600 or 3700 direct jobs with many tens of thousands more downstream as that relates to hotels, hospitality and accommodation and other entertainment that sits adjacent to attendance at a major event. And what we see here now more than at any other time that I can recall is the importance of making sure that we are investing not just in those 3600 or 3700 direct jobs but also in the people who need and rely upon steady employment as part of our recovery and rebuilding process. Sitting alongside the work that we have done to invest in jobs, to invest in infrastructure, to invest in a record amount of funding for the sorts of programs, services and delivery that will benefit all Victorians for generations to come, the events calendar is as important a piece to this puzzle as any other.

So I am looking forward to other contributions on this bill here today. I am looking forward hopefully by the end of contributions made by members of this chamber to not be alone in my steadfast willingness to claim a complete lack of coordination and spatial ability. I am looking forward to anyone who sees me trying to drink from a water bottle and walk in a straight line, and failing abysmally, to turn a blind eye and to know, however, that despite my corporeal lack of elegance I am still able to be in the front row cheering when it comes to our extraordinary major events calendar. I am hoping that all Victorians will join with the ones we have loved and missed and a series of wonderful strangers, masked up, vaccinated as required and otherwise able to enjoy in a safe way the events calendar that we have now and the events calendar that we will continue to have with greater safeguards and measures of certainty and security than ever before as a consequence of the passage of this bill, and I indeed affirm it in a very uncoordinated way to the house for its passage.

Ms TAYLOR (Southern Metropolitan) (14:54): I can relate. As I was saying to you before, Ms Shing, I did not even make it to the netball team. I could only dream of making it to the netball team.

Members interjecting.

Ms TAYLOR: I do not know. I was better suited to ballet, so we have all got our thing and ballet was my thing. Now, I did not become a professional, I will note, but it is still a great love, and I am even doing a ballet barre at home. Anyway, I digress—

Members interjecting.

Ms TAYLOR: Yes, I have started. I just feel like it is a good way to keep fit.

A member interjected.

Ms TAYLOR: Well, you know, we all have our thing. I suppose the point is that you do not have to be a brilliant athlete to admire other athletes and to admire major and brilliant spectacles whether on the sporting field or at major cultural events. I have felt quite emotionally moved on a variety of tangents this afternoon relating to the great love that is shared—and I reckon across the chamber; I will say that safely—for the magnificent sporting and cultural events, noting that Melbourne is absolutely the capital. This has been said, but I am going to say it again because it is no mean feat that so many Victorians turn out and turn up for these major cultural events. It would be so easy to just sit back and—I do not want to reflect on America, but with the Super Bowl a lot of that is done on television.

Ms Shing: No-one wants to reflect on America.

Ms TAYLOR: Okay, we will not reflect on that. But that is TV stuff, isn’t it? There is a place for TV too, but there is nothing that beats being there live. I have to say I am not actually always the best at watching sport et cetera on TV—except Ash Barty, I did watch her; I loved every second of it, and Nadal. But there is something to be said for actually being in an arena, isn’t there? I do not know what it is, but you can plonk me at the MCG in front of just about any major sporting event and I will be enraptured, because there is that great communal ambience that connects us all. It is social, isn’t it? It is social, it is emotional, it is moving and there is something about that collectivity to the point that I often end up almost crying when the national anthem and other things are sung. I do not know why, but it becomes a full emotional event. I think that is exactly the point that Mr Gepp was making earlier. He was saying that this is why the average consumer can be so vulnerable, because they so much want to be part of those experiences.

It starts in childhood in Victoria. I am not saying it does not overseas as well, but it is certainly something that is a characterisation of our great state. In wanting to be part of those experiences people will go the extra mile, and others who perhaps have ethics that are not as strong and are not as discerning perhaps take advantage of that. We have seen that a lot. It is not acceptable, hence the imperative for a great state like Victoria to have strong regulation in place. And contrary to what might have been asserted by the Liberal Democrats—they have their right to their point of view; I totally respect that—we do see that there is merit in having reasonable regulation in this space, because it is the right thing to do. We do not like consumers being taken advantage of. None of us here want to be in that situation, no less see fellow Victorians in that situation. Taking reasonable means to protect against that has got to be a good thing.

I did want to pick up on a couple of points that were raised earlier, because there is this issue of loophole upon loophole and closing loopholes, which is really what this legislation is about at the end of the day—trying to minimise scope for those with less scruples, can we say, who might try to take advantage of fellow Victorians, if I say it broadly. In addressing some of those points, without authority from the event organiser the onselling of a ticket package would be in breach of the legislation being presented to the house. Any easing of the seeking of authority from the event organiser has the potential to create a loophole which would be difficult to enforce. Whilst I accepted some of the points that were raised by those opposite—and I think that is what having a debate in this wonderful chamber is all about—we have to be careful that in trying to achieve one thing you do not create a further problem. Hence there is a rationale behind the way that this legislation has been drafted as it has. It is indeed anticipating further and other outcomes which would not be advantageous and which would indeed possibly create another loophole. That was kind of a circular argument, but it made sense in my head. I do not know how it landed, but it made sense in here, so that is something.

I am just picking up on another point that was raised by Mr Ondarchie. Based on the terms and conditions of a ticket package, a purchaser who cannot attend an event may be able to seek a refund—that is point 1—at the discretion of the authorised ticket package seller or seek an alternative attendance date from the package seller. So there are these options, but it is just that the cons outweighed the pros from going an extra step which indeed would create an undesirable loophole that we do not want to create in these circumstances. At the end of the day it is a pragmatic thing. The new measure will guard against individuals and companies buying tickets and then obscuring inflated resale prices for seats in packages with hospitality experiences or merchandise. That seems fair and reasonable, and I think it is right and proper for our government to be taking these steps. I did not sense a lot of objection in the chamber. Little hints—

Ms Shing interjected.

Ms TAYLOR: A little grumbling. They are always grumbling. But overall I am pretty certain that there is a good consensus and there is a strength of standing behind this legislation for good reason. What is the good reason? One of those reasons is that we have had extensive consultation with stakeholders. These organisations include: the Arts Centre Melbourne, the Australian Football League—we were talking before about the AFL, weren’t we, and I might just add that the Melbourne Demons did win the grand final last year. I just want to reinforce that, because there was a lot of discussion about the Richmond Football Club. This is why we must win again this year, right? All the more reason. I can feel another trip to the MCG coming on. I would really like to see that.

Anyway, there was Consumer Affairs Victoria, Cricket Australia, eBay, Facebook, Frontier Touring—you get the gist—Gumtree has been mentioned, Her Majesty’s Theatre, Kardinia Park, Live Nation, Live Performance Australia, Marriner Group, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne & Olympic Parks Trust, Melbourne Cricket Club, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Meredith Music Festival, Michael Cassel Group, Music Victoria, Premium Seats, Sportsnet Holidays, StubHub, T20 World Cup local organising committee, Tennis Australia, Ticket Brokers Association of Australia, Ticketmaster, Ticketek, Tickstar, Vantage Point Events and Viagogo. So you can see that there has been extensive and appropriate consultation, and this certainly gives credence to these various amendments that are being presented as part of this bill in the chamber today. We can see this is why the bill is landing as it should and has so much support and consensus behind it, in spite of a couple of little grumblings along the way. But I think it goes without saying that there is a clear imperative to make these changes, as was said very eloquently by Ms Shing in between discussions about netball and other activities.

Mr Finn interjected.

Ms TAYLOR: You missed that? Well, that is a grand shame, and I am happy to remind you of some of those elements. It was tops. It was really terrific. There is a strong imperative, because we need consumer confidence if we are going to continue to have people attending events, putting their faith in ticket organisers et cetera. It is a quid pro quo, isn’t it? It is about respect and making sure that people know, ‘I’m getting the ticket I want, I’ve paid a fair price and it’s transparent’. Who knew that people would like transparency? Indeed they do. In fact all the stakeholders consulted lend themselves to an understanding of how important it is to have transparency in this space, because we do not want anything—any nastiness, any narkiness—to detract from the magnificence of all of our brilliant major cultural and sporting events.

There was something Ms Shing also picked up on: the 2021 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces, French Impressionism, from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Well, that was just magnificent. It was just beautiful. You go right up to the picture, absorb or stand away, and either way you just cannot believe how these brilliant artists came to that point, that magnificence. I do not know if you got to see it, Mr Finn, but it was magnificent.

Mr Finn: Well, I think I’m listening to a fair artist at the minute.

Ms TAYLOR: Okay, I will accept that. As somebody who is a great admirer of art, I am very much an amateur. It is just something that I love to see, and I think it is part of being somebody who grew up in Victoria, although art is admired across the world, without a doubt. In fact to that point it can also attract, obviously as we know, and has brought great income to our great state and actually to Australia, holding these major cultural and sporting events. A report found, for instance, that in 2018 the value of major events to the Victorian economy had soared up to $2.53 billion a year. I think it goes without saying that not only are these events incredibly enjoyable but they also attract a great influx of funds for our economy at the end of the day. If we think about it, we are also supporting our local sportspeople and artists. If you have integrity in the way that tickets are purchased and transacted, at the end of the day you are also supporting future works and artists. I know I might be stretching it a little bit there, but ultimately it is all part of the story, isn’t it, because we know how hard it is.

As someone who danced at an amateur level, I know that when creating fine art, whether it be the ballet, opera or otherwise, you are absolutely at the mercy of your physical self—the slightest injury and your career can be over. It is not dissimilar in tennis, in football or in so many different sports. You would know yourself, with your football team, with the Australian Football League, that it is really delicate. I think this is why we get so much pleasure when we do attend these major sporting and cultural events. Whatever your shtick is, it is because we know the incredible sacrifice and the practice and the years and the risks involved in promoting but also in pulling these incredible events together.

I will commend Minister Pakula also, because it takes huge courage but also great consultation and great vision for this great state to entice and hold these magnificent events, to keep them going and to keep that confidence both at a government level but also internationally and across Australia. So I think that this particular legislation is landing at just the right time, and though I know that, like Ms Shing, I will never be a famous netballer or sportsperson—

A member interjected.

Ms TAYLOR: No, it is not going to happen—or ballerina, for that matter, I can still enjoy it and enjoy it with confidence. And I know my fellow Victorians can as well.

A member interjected.

Ms TAYLOR: Maybe netball, maybe basketball—either way. But I can still admire it and know with confidence that because of the protections being brought in by this legislation we are mitigating the risk of people being ripped off—that is what we are talking about—because we do not want that, not in our great state. So onwards and upwards with our major cultural and sporting events, and I commend this legislation to the house.

Ms PULFORD (Western Victoria—Minister for Employment, Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Resources) (15:08): Can I just thank all members for their contributions on this debate. It has been thoroughly entertaining to hear what members’ personal reflections and experiences are in relation to their own participation in and observation of the extraordinary major events calendar and history—and their excitement about the future that we have—here in Victoria.

I thought I would start by reflecting on what a truly difficult couple of years it has been for the major events part of our economy and our major events communities: promoters; stage set-up folks, the events businesses that set up and then take down the structures that enable things like the grand prix to occur and the really specialised and dedicated workforce that have in most cases lost most of their work over the best part of a two-year period; the sound people; the light people; the technicians and of course also those adjacent industries; the retailers that benefit from the Spring Racing Carnival; the hospitality businesses that burst into life and are just jam-packed when the Australian Open sets Melbourne alight for the start of each new calendar year; and of course all the accommodation providers. Anybody who has ever tried to get a room within a roar of this part of Melbourne—so close to our major events precinct—when those big events have been going gangbusters knows well how quickly the hotel rooms fill up.

And it is not just our sporting precinct. There have been some wonderful reflections shared about our theatre precinct—also incredibly special. Throughout Victoria the benefit of visitation that comes from our events calendar is very, very significant. Ms Shing mentioned this, I think Mr Gepp mentioned this—it is pretty much all anyone from regional Victoria was talking about last week—and I am also very, very excited about this first step that has been taken in terms of exploring a regionally focused and based Commonwealth Games. We wish those working on that proposal every success over coming months.

There were a couple of comments or concerns, issues, raised by a couple of members through the course of the debate and in some discussions outside of the chamber during the week, and I will take the opportunity to respond to those for completeness but also thank members in the chamber who are overwhelmingly supportive of this bill, which underpins our major events calendar, our major events sector, which is of course so important to not just the economy but the very social fabric of our state. Mr Limbrick and Dr Cumming had some questions. I think, in part, one of the questions the Liberal Democrats raised was, ‘What is the problem here that we are seeking to fix?’. So in response to that—and other members have reflected on this, including Mr Ondarchie in his contribution—the purpose of this bill is to tighten legislation where unauthorised ticket sellers are buying tickets to declared major events and then bundling them with other goods so that they are able to sell the tickets at a profitable mark-up. The bill is about protecting consumers from having to pay inflated prices for additional goods and services that they might not necessarily want just to get their hands on that ticket of their dreams—providing the event organiser with discretion over who can sell ticket packages, which helps ensure the benefits of ticket sales and packages flow to the event organisers and the artists who carry the financial risk of hosting events. Ultimately, above all, this bill is about ensuring fairness and reward for effort and assisting authorised ticketing offices with enforcing the act.

Now, in spite of the passion that the debate has brought to the chamber this afternoon, it is quite a modest reform that is before the house. There is a loophole that has revealed itself, and it is that loophole that is being closed. There was a question or a concern that Dr Cumming had which related to the impact on charities, and I think it is a good and important question, but I just want to provide some advice on this to satisfy any interest that the house may have or any concern that the house may have. So with existing legislation, under the Major Events Act 2009, if a charity wishes to auction off a ticket to a major declared event for more than 10 per cent above the face value purchase price, then the authorisation of the event organiser is required, entirely reasonably. It would be an offence for the charity to do this if they were not authorised.

The same rules apply to charities as apply to all other organisations. So a raffle, for instance, conducted by a charity to win a ticket to a declared event would not be considered to be a breach of the act, assuming the cost of the raffle ticket would not exceed the face value purchase price of the ticket by more than 10 per cent. So when the authorised ticketing officers come across instances of complaints against charities in relation to the scalping of tickets for declared major events, these officers have discretion for enforcement measures, and I think that is an important point. It would be far more likely that a charity that found themselves operating outside of these in error would be asked to ensure their compliance and to fix up any deficiencies in their own systems. Really it would be perhaps a matter that would be escalated if you had persistent and serious breaches.

There was some interest from Dr Cumming in an exemption being allowed for charities. Our concern, and we have explained this, is that if charities were to be granted an exemption under the bill it could also be argued that the exemption would need to be applied to other not-for-profit organisations or community-based groups such as sporting or hobby groups. You can imagine the whole framework could be blown wide open with a whole lot of exemptions. Just to give you a sense of the number of charities that are registered, there are in Australia 600 000 not-for-profit organisations, 54 000 of which are charities in a formal and legal sense. All that charities need to do, should they wish to organise fundraising activities or gifts or donations as part of their usual activity, is the same as all other organisations—that is, to seek the consent of the hosting organisation. Again this is about making sure that everyone gets a fair go at the tickets and that consumers are getting what they have paid for.

Some of these events can be quite expensive. I think for many people they represent a really significant proportion of that discretionary income in the household—very, very special occasions, maybe to the tennis once a year. You would have been so lucky if it had been this year, because it was an extraordinary Australian Open. Maybe it is a ticket to the theatre for a birthday ending in a zero or a special anniversary ending in a zero, a trip to the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces, a trip into town and a night away perhaps. These are very special occasions, and it is really important that when people are investing their hard-earned money in these special occasions that they get what they pay for and that they are purchasing those on a level playing field. I think we can all agree that that is very, very important, whether you are a sport nut like our major events minister—any type of sport, anytime, anywhere—or, like me, are closer to the range that Harriet described, you know, ‘I’m not really sure what’s going on at this particular moment, but gee, this thing has got an amazing atmosphere, an electric atmosphere and it’s so exciting to be here’. I am probably closer to that end of the range than to Mr Gepp’s outrageous use of the chamber, emboldened as he was by the Deputy President with all that Tigers business, though I note you are here Mr Finn too, so I will be careful before you stop me.

It is literally horses for courses, not just the Spring Racing Carnival but think of the range of events. You have the naughty and outrageous productions like The Book of Mormon, and you have a beautiful event probably dominated by girls and boys under the age of 10 having a lovely, lovely time at Frozen, which is currently on, so each to their own. There are the sports mad and those who are—and this is perhaps a personal reflection—absolutely busting to get to the NGV to see the Chanel exhibition before it packs up or to the Spring Racing Carnival, which of course has such a significant impact on our economy in terms of catering and all of the activities that occur away from the track as well as all of those that occur at the track. I have very much enjoyed hearing from people about the things that they love, and I too take this opportunity to outrageously add my congratulations to the victors in the Australian Open in January. It was quite something. I am still recovering from that five-set men’s final. Congratulations, Mr Nadal. I think there was a nation affected by goosebumps in a way not seen since Cathy Freeman won her gold medal in 2000 when Ash Barty played that final point.

Ms Shing interjected.

Ms PULFORD: Of course there was that extraordinary week in Dylan Alcott’s life when he had to zip up to Canberra to be named Australian of the Year and then zip back to play in his final, having inspired a nation not so many months earlier at the Olympics. We wish Mr Alcott every success in his year ahead. He made it very clear on day one and I think every day since that he will be a powerful advocate for Victorians who live with a disability, and all strength to him and to those with whom he works on that important, important endeavour.

This legislation, whilst it is a modest amendment that closes a loophole, is about reinforcing our major events framework. It is about making sure that when our Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions or our minister for major events goes and engages with promoters and event organisers around the world in a very competitive environment they can say to those people with absolute confidence, ‘You bet we can host Moulin Rouge!. You bet we can put on this sporting event. Yes, we will take your extraordinary works of art and we will spend our winter months rugged up attending our art galleries and enjoying that part of our world’s history’. It is one of the defining characteristics of Melbourne’s culture, and we are really proud to support it. We are really proud to be supporting the passage of this legislation today that will ensure that it continues to play such an important part in the state’s economy and in the lives of all of us, whether it is little kids being inspired by people like Dylan Alcott, whether it is a young ballet dancer, like Ms Taylor spoke about, being able to go and see something extraordinary that then causes them to dare to dream of what they might be able to do and what they might be able to fall in love with, whether it is a sporting pursuit or a cultural pursuit.

I might conclude where I started. As members would know there are piles and piles of reports and analyses of the economic benefits of these events. They are things that successive Victorian governments for a long time have invested in, have pursued, have nurtured and will continue to do so. I have no doubt it is something that generally enjoys really strong bipartisan support as to the investment in the infrastructure and the precincts where we host these things as well. So a final message to those who have been so impacted for the last couple of years as they have not been able to work and to bring these events to life for us: we look forward to catching up with you many, many times this year and in future years. I commend the bill to the house.

Motion agreed to.

Read second time.

Third reading

Ms PULFORD (Western Victoria—Minister for Employment, Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Resources) (15:23): I move, by leave:

That the bill be now read a third time.

Motion agreed to.

Read third time.

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Mr Melhem): Pursuant to standing order 14.27, the bill will be returned to the Assembly with a message informing them that the Council have agreed to the bill without amendment.