Thursday, 4 August 2022

Major events

Mr ERDOGAN (Southern Metropolitan) (10:34): I am pleased to report that Melbourne has shown once again that it is the major sports and events capital of Australia. I am the chair of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee, and we had an inquiry into the effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic on the events and tourism sectors and the concerns raised about the long-term prospects of the sector. But I can report that it is back.

One fine example was the recent match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at the MCG on 19 July 2022. On a chilly Melbourne night—it was very frosty indeed—a crowd reported to be nearing 80 000 attended. Diehard football fans turned out despite this cold. It was fantastic to have an opportunity to attend but also to catch up with local sporting clubs that were in attendance from across Melbourne. I was joined by the Parliamentary Secretary for Sport, Danielle Green, as well as Crystal Palace owner Steve Parish, who had made the journey down from London. All in all it was a fantastic night and a great win by Manchester United. There were plenty of goals—for those of you that are football fans like me, you know you can sometimes have a game where there are no goals, so to have a few goals was quite enjoyable.

I would like to acknowledge the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, the Honourable Steve Dimopoulos, as well as the former minister, the Honourable Martin Pakula, for their work in securing this event and for the delivery of this great event. Victoria is back on the map as one of the world’s sporting and major events capitals, and we are here to stay. Melbourne is back.