Wednesday, 31 May 2023

 Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Water, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Commonwealth Games Legacy, Minister for Equality) (12:21): Today I rise in my role as Minister for Commonwealth Games Legacy. As the Commonwealth Games showcases the very best opportunities that we have to celebrate the pride of place, the identities, the history, the culture and the stories of rural and regional Victoria, we will be creating thousands of local jobs. Before, during and after the games we will see about 7500 jobs created, in fact. Our vibrant rural and regional communities are a driving force behind Victoria’s economic growth and prosperity, and that is why we are maximising opportunities for Victorians – for jobs, for businesses, for enterprises and for communities – to get involved and to be part of the journey to Victoria 2026 every single step of the way.

This is also about celebrating the diversity across Victoria through a range of investments in accessible and inclusive infrastructure in events, services, procurement and employment opportunities. Through the Local Jobs First policy we are seeking to engage a variety of local skilled workers and businesses through the goods and services procurement pipeline. That is worth $800 million, and that will feature more than 1200 opportunities for contracts to be won. These procurement processes cover everything from mascot design through to medals, uniforms, opening and closing ceremonies, the King’s baton relay and much more.

In April we in fact opened a registration-of-interest process, inviting regionally based employment suppliers and group training organisations to assist contractors in finding people to help build the games villages and venues. An expression of interest for a range of things was also released at the start of May, and we are inviting ceremonies production services to register their interest. This is also about working with First Nations communities, of special importance this week in discussing this in the context of National Reconciliation Week. I look forward to you getting on board, Mrs McArthur.