Western Victoria Region
Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (12:55): My question is for the Minister for Creative Industries. Going to a concert should not be a difficult business. You should be able to buy a ticket, line up and attend – it is very simple really. Well, not so. With the rise of artificial intelligence – not A1, but artificial intelligence – and bots, concert tickets are purchased within an instant of them being released online. The average person does not stand a chance. Instead, they are forced to purchase, usually, a scalped ticket, quite often with a hefty mark-up. Minister, I ask you: do you have any plans at all to deal with this very significant matter? It disproportionately impacts younger people, who are being squeezed by ruthless scalpers. Will you implement a system very similar to that in other jurisdictions which requires a form of identification to purchase online tickets? Action is needed before young people suffer and the live music industry’s credibility is more at risk.