Tuesday, 12 November 2024

Ministers statements: major events

Steve DIMOPOULOS (Oakleigh – Minister for Environment, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Minister for Outdoor Recreation) (14:19): There is something really special about summer in the sporting and events capital of the country. You would not want to spend it anywhere else. No-one does it better than Victoria. You would think that after the AFL grand final and the MotoGP we might be due for a gap in the calendar, but we are just warming up. Our jam-packed major events calendar has something for everyone – live music, the arts, sport, take your pick. We have got the Socceroos this Thursday at AAMI Park against Saudi Arabia. Always Live, the biggest music concert, with more than 65 events across Victoria, is starting at the end of November, hosting big names like Missy Higgins, 90s punk rockers the Offspring and more than 200 local artists supported.

A member interjected.

Steve DIMOPOULOS: Your favourite band. We have taken back the Australian Open golf from our poor cousin New South Wales, and that is starting at the end of November. I know the member for Clarinda cannot wait to get out there and strut his stuff on the green. We have got the blockbuster Boxing Day test against India in December, and after stumps on day 3, as the Premier said yesterday, you will be able to walk across the road to see the first ever kabaddi league exhibition match played on Australian soil. Kabaddi is a fast-paced, high-intensity contact sport, the second-biggest sport in India behind cricket, with nearly 300 million viewers watching kabaddi.

The Australian Open tennis is in the heart of Melbourne. There is the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, which I know the members for Geelong and Bellarine cannot wait for. The World Superbike Championship is in the member for Bass’s electorate. The Grampians Peaks Trail 100 miler is in the member for Lowan’s electorate. And who could forget the Matildas against Chinese Taipei at AAMI Park on 4 December and down at Kardinia Park on the 7th. I could go on; the list is literally endless. All that is to say that we are the sporting and cultural capital of the nation.