Wednesday, 18 October 2023

Ministers statements: Spring Racing Carnival

Anthony CARBINES (Ivanhoe – Minister for Police, Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Racing) (14:34): I rise to update the house that we are racing in the 2023 Victorian Spring Racing Carnival, a carnival that brings people to our state, that brings people together, that promotes economic activity and is a great day out. This Saturday is the historic Caulfield Cup; the following week is Australia’s best race at the valley, the Cox Plate; and then the carnival moves to headquarters at Flemington for four magnificent days of racing for the Melbourne Cup Carnival. The cup carnival is the largest major event in Victoria. It is bigger than the Australian Open tennis with the $422 million contribution that it makes, but it is also not all about Melbourne.

It is the culmination of 55 country cups that are run across our state across the year. Let us give a shout-out to those 128 racing clubs across our state, mostly volunteer, and the racing events and courses that they run – 650 community events that use racing club facilities. I will be with the member for Ripon on Saturday to see the best of country racing at the Avoca Cup with 5000 of our best friends. We will be at the Seymour Cup on Sunday and next week at the Geelong Cup with the member for Geelong, the member for Lara and the member for Bellarine. I was at the Warrnambool carnival in May, and in a couple of weeks I will be with the member for Cranbourne at the Cranbourne Cup.

The Allan government has been investing $72 million in infrastructure funding and animal welfare through the Victorian Racing Industry Fund, and do not forget that in the Southern Hemisphere the biggest place for horse training is out there in Cranny. Do not forget also that our industry generates some $4.7 billion in economic activity and 35,000 full-time equivalent jobs, 9000 of those in country Victoria. I can tell you one tip, Speaker: we may not all back a winner, and some do not back the racing industry at all, but the Allan Labor government backs racing jobs in Victoria.