Wednesday, 18 February 2026

 Renee HEATH (Eastern Victoria) (18:30): (2326) My adjournment tonight is to the Minister for Regional Development. The action that I seek is for the minister to release all analysis of the economic value of the Phillip Island MotoGP to my region and to the state of Victoria. I am actually disgusted to see that Victorians have been dealt another blow today with the loss of the MotoGP. I, along with so many of my constituents, am both devastated and angry at this announcement. The Allan Labor government has had years to lock in this agreement, and it has failed to do so. Just like that, we have lost another one of our most iconic events.

The MotoGP has been held 29 times on Phillip Island. It is one of regional Victoria’s most iconic events. It is said to generate over $55.6 million in economic impact across the state of Victoria, and just shy of $30 million of that is direct local spending in the Bass Coast. It supports 284 local full-time jobs. What is more disgusting, in my opinion, is that just yesterday the Premier was trying to look as if she supported this event. I am not going to beat around the bush with this. The Labor government have shown themselves to be economic vandals, complete dream-crushers, because this decision is probably going to be the death note for a lot of local businesses in Bass, and I just think it is disgusting.

I also want to say that I hope that the two Labor MPs for the Eastern Victoria Region did not just lie down and go with this; I hope they fought. But the reality is that in this state we are paying a million dollars an hour on the interest alone on our debt. It has been uncovered there has been at least $15 billion funnelled to criminals. Every child born in the state of Victoria inherits the equivalent of $20,000 of state debt, which is their burden to carry as soon as they are born. The minute they are into this world, that is the debt that they have got to carry. This government has to get its act together. You have completely let down the people of Bass and you have completely let down the people of Victoria, and you need to explain yourself.