Southern Metropolitan Region
John BERGER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:42): (97) Today I rise to ask a question for the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos, and in doing so I pay tribute to the great men and women that ensure Victoria is the sporting capital of Australia, and I reckon it is the sporting capital of the world. Last Friday night I had the pleasure of attending the Collingwood v. Geelong round 1 game at the mighty MCG, and boy, it was a ripper. Darcy Moore is doing a fine job as the skipper, and I reckon this might be our year. How good was our biggest gig ever a couple of weeks ago, Ed Sheeran? That was great. But it is just not about that. Our government will always support sport: the Commonwealth Games in 2026 – secured; the AFL Grand Final at the MCG until 2059 – secured; the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park until 2037 – secured, and I am looking forward to attending the Australian Grand Prix soon. And let me be clear, the Australian Open will not be moving to Sydney any time. The Andrews Labor government has boosted gender equality in sports with new grants and initiatives, and our 2022 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund has transformed local grounds, building much-needed overhead lights – (Time expired)