It is a pleasure to rise and make a contribution to the State Sporting Legislation Amendment Bill 2024. This amendment bill makes some important administrative changes across several different acts. It includes the Kardinia Park Stadium Act 2016, the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Act 1985, the Melbourne Cricket Ground Act 2009, the Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Act 1985 and the State Sport Centres Act 1994. As we do in this place many a time, it is a pretty straightforward administration-type amendment, but it is important that we continue in this place to fine-tune all these acts as we go along and make sure that these acts are modern and fit for purpose. Essentially, by doing this we are making sure that there is effective governance in this state. In this case we are looking at our sporting assets and the regulation of professional boxing and combat sport, as I have said. In terms of trusts that we have across our state, together they manage in excess of $4.1 billion worth of significant state assets spread across a number of major and complex sporting venues. It is an absolutely incredible investment that we have. But what is incredible, I suppose, about that investment that we are delivering are the events that we host in these facilities and these sporting venues.

We like to say we are the sporting capital of the world. We have had that title officially for the last decade, from 2016, when we were crowned the SportBusiness Ultimate Sports City for the decade at the 10-year anniversary awards in Switzerland, which was confirmation of our claim as the world’s best city for sport. That award is the longest running rankings of the world’s top sporting hosts, and we took that gong off cities such as Berlin, London, New York and of course Sydney as well. We always like to do well and do better than Sydney. We know that these types of accolades and awards are lovely to have and we can claim them, but it does not happen by accident. These are dedicated investments that we have made as a state government.

In May of this year our Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events said in this place in a ministers statement that we can think of the Melbourne and Olympic Parks precinct as really the jewel in the crown of our events calendar. On the back of more than a billion dollars invested across the precinct over the years, it has generated more than $740 million in economic activity in one year alone. In just one year that economic activity was $740 million. That precinct welcomed over 3 million visitors and also contributed to 1.2 million bed nights across our hotels in Victoria. That is what these investments are about as a driver of our economic activity.

I just wanted to relate this bill to my own electorate back in the Bellarine and our Geelong region, because we have the Kardinia Park stadium, which this bill also speaks to. Kardinia Park stadium is the biggest and best stadium in regional Victoria. It is a place where I have grown up. I have grown up born and bred in Geelong. I have seen that stadium transform in front of my eyes. I used to go and watch the football in the outer, and we would stand there and watch the mighty Cats play. Over the years I have seen that transform into an absolutely world-class stadium, which we can enjoy. It still has a section where over 2000 people can go to the footy and stand in the outer; they can watch the footy and have that same experience, which is fantastic. When I say it is the best, it literally is. This stadium has been awarded, over several years now, an official title as the best regional stadium. After a landmark hosting of major events, such as the Foo Fighters and the 2022 T20 World Cup, that stadium was awarded Australia’s best regional stadium in the annual Austadiums awards. Like I said, that won it, really, from a fan base. It is voted by fans, and it is determined across Australia over seven different categories. It was followed up again last year but announced earlier this year. That regional stadium is a key part also of our regional events calendar and plays a key part in Victoria’s $36.9 billion visitor economy, which also continues to grow.

I have talked a little bit about Kardinia Park, but it also has a trust that works under the act. It was delivered after an election commitment by the then Andrews Labor government, which delivered on that election commitment to establish the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust. Really, to establish that trust was to give the iconic Geelong venue that safe and exciting future and would give responsibility for the oversight of that stadium – which is really in charge of attracting those world-class events – to the Geelong region.

With the different redevelopments that have happened over the years, we have had the last stage, stage ‍5, open earlier this year – the Joel Selwood Stand and also other facilities in that stadium, which I will talk to in just a moment. It is an incredible investment that we have made to ensure that this is a rare asset for regional Victoria and to have events and major events, not just AFL, coming to our region. It is really a source of pride for our communities, this stadium. It does enable those major events, and with that comes that sizeable economic benefit. The economic opportunities at that stadium other than AFL include other things that we have seen there already. We have had monster trucks and motocross events. Soccer has been played there and cricket, as I have said. We have had science exhibitions and even a Jurassic World movie day at the stadium. It really allows now for some world-class events to come there.

As I have mentioned, who could forget the incredible Foo Fighters concert when they came to Geelong. I was lucky to have seats in the nosebleeds up the very top, but it was an absolutely incredible event to see the region rocking out with the Foo Fighters. But from that, an additional $1.3 million was injected into the Geelong hospitality sector. Our hotels were chockers, our bars and our restaurants were filled and the visitor spend in the inner city jumped 75 per cent from one event, which was fantastic. There is a little bit of a cliché in Geelong that when the footy club is winning so is the city. But really I think this stadium – as I said, over the years since growing up there I have seen it develop in its different stages – has indicated and is a symbol of how Geelong has matured and grown up as well. It really is a uniquely Geelong- and community-focused stadium.

Just on a couple of other things I wanted to touch on about that redevelopment, a really important part was telling our First Nations stories. Our First Nations people would gather at Kardinia Park, and there is now Djilang Plaza as part of that stadium, which is – I encourage people to go there – an absolutely amazing installation of art telling the traditional owners’ stories. Every time there is an event there or a sporting event there, people will go gather there and they will be able to also learn and experience some of the First Nations stories at this really important place for our traditional Wadawurrung people. Also part of that redevelopment was a cricket centre. It is also an indoor cricket hub for the region’s community with year-round access. This bill is a really important part of modernising our state’s sporting assets