Tuesday, 16 May 2023

Commonwealth Games

Sam GROTH (Nepean) (14:18): My question is for the Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery. The federal budget includes a commitment of around $3.5 billion for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. How much did the federal government commit to Victoria for the 2026 Commonwealth Games?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery) (14:18): I am delighted to talk about the opportunity that Victoria has to be a host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games and regional Victoria has to be home for the 2026 Commonwealth Games. In terms of the opportunities, I was with the member for Ripon just last Tuesday when we had a great opportunity to invest in new sporting infrastructure facilities for that growing country community of Miners Rest, and gee, they are glad to have a Labor member in Ripon. Gee, they love you in Miners Rest, member for Ripon. They were just so pleased to hear about the investment that is being made in Miners Rest as a consequence –

Paul Edbrooke: 15–love. Foot fault.

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Frankston, I think you know what I am going to say. You can leave the chamber for 1 hour.

Member for Frankston withdrew from chamber.

Sam Groth: On a point of order, Speaker, I ask you to bring the minister back to the question. She is not being relevant. It is a simple question based on how much funding was allocated to the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister was being relevant in that the question referred to the Commonwealth Games and budgets. I ask the minister to answer the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: Thank you, Speaker. I was very deliberately referring to the investment that we are making in Miners Rest as a consequence of hosting the Commonwealth Games and as a consequence of investing in the upgrade to Eureka Stadium, which my colleagues in Ballarat know very well and are greatly supportive of. This is one of the key reasons why we grabbed with both hands the opportunity to have regional Victoria as the home of the games, because of the investment that is going to be made. And yes, we have been having conversations with the federal government about their partnership –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Jacinta ALLAN: There is a lot of hot air and agitation over here, but not a lot of it is based in any fact or indeed any substance. There is not a lot of substance that is going on over here.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Through the Chair!

Jacinta ALLAN: I will not take up the interjection, but I was exactly going to go to the federal government’s budget paper. I think it was budget paper no. 1, if my memory serves me correctly, it is page 71, but I am happy to correct the record, where they explicitly make a reference to the Victorian 2026 Commonwealth Games and how they are continuing to work with the Victorian government, because here is –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Nationals is warned. Minister, through the Chair.

Jacinta ALLAN: I think they are just glad they have got no party room meetings this week. This is where we are going to continue to work with the Commonwealth government. And as the Premier referred to last week, there are more budgets between now and March 2026. There are more opportunities to talk about investment partnerships with the federal government because that is how we operate – whatever government is in power in Canberra, we have consistently and constantly advocated for Victoria to get a fair share of infrastructure funding, no matter what the policy area, and that is the approach we will continue to take.

Sam GROTH (Nepean) (14:22): Can the minister guarantee that the $2.6 billion of Victorian funding for the Commonwealth Games is still available?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Would those on my left like the minister to answer the question? I would ask you to come to order.

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery) (14:23): We have talked a bit this afternoon about budget and budget day and budget papers. I know he was not here at the time, but I am happy to have delivered to the member for Nepean a copy of last May’s budget papers and Labor’s financial statement that clearly indicates that we are committed to delivering the Commonwealth Games with that $2.6 billion of investment. I will say this: unlike particularly the National Party, when it comes to regional Victoria, we will deliver sports, not rorts.