Tuesday, 19 March 2024

Royal Exhibition Building

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (18:39): (788) Tonight I want to raise a matter for the Minister for Creative Industries, and it concerns the Royal Exhibition Building. The building is a remarkable building. It was World Heritage listed in 2004, was built in 1880 for the Melbourne International Exhibition and was the site of Australia’s first federal Parliament in 1901. But now the evidence is that Labor, in government now for 16 of the last 20 years, has mismanaged this important building. It is crumbling, and the murals inside, which are so much a part of the history of the building and part of its World Heritage listing, are in a terrible state. As I say, it was World Heritage listed, and the ornate internal paintings were part of that. Parts of the murals from 1880 are still intact at this time, but they are crumbling now through the financial mismanagement of Labor; the museums board, which is responsible for the building; and indeed Heritage Victoria as well. There is a real risk that our World Heritage listed building will crumble and we will lose many of the murals and paintings inside.

The hall’s interior, which includes stencils, murals and mottos such as ‘Victoria welcomes all nations’, was designed by architect John Mather with additions from John Ross Anderson for the ceremonial opening of federal Parliament on 25 May 1901. These are very significant in the history of our country and in the history of the world. That building typified the exhibition movement around the world, and it was one of the key reasons – the typification of those exhibitions around the world – that it was heritage listed. It is up to us to make sure that it is maintained in a suitable condition.

It is estimated that the restorations will cost $50 million. The state government has spent, I am informed, $1.2 million on the building over the last five years. So this is just typical Labor. They cannot manage money, they cannot manage projects and they cannot take responsibility for projects that are so significant. But it needs to go further. There is actually a responsibility of the federal government, but in the very first instance the state government through Museums Victoria needs to act, and that is the responsibility of the Minister for Creative Industries. So what I want him to do is to get off his tail and to make sure that this building is restored and protected, that the crumbling state of it is arrested and that the murals are not allowed to deteriorate to the point where we have lost them. Five million dollars is an urgent injection. I know the state government has got itself in terrible trouble with the budget. I urge him to act.