Juliana ADDISON (Wendouree) (18:40): I too am very pleased to contribute to the debate today in support of the State Sporting Legislation Amendment Bill 2024. I would like to recognise the great work of our Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events – also known as the portfolio for fun – and his ministerial office and the department for bringing this bill to the house, which really does tidy up a lot of things. Also there is a gender equality aspect of it, which I am very interested in.

As always, consultation is incredibly important, and as good governments do, a range of relevant organisations have been consulted with throughout the process of this amending bill, including government bodies, sporting trusts and committees, and I thank them all for their contributions.

This bill puts forward a variety of administrative improvements for the management of many of our state sporting institutions, and so the involvement of the organisations themselves is critical. It is because of these incredible sporting institutions that Victoria really is the sporting and major events capital of Australia. From the Australian Open to the grand prix to the grand final, sporting events are central to the Victorian calendar, as proven by ever impressive attendance figures. We really do make sure we have got events at the start of the year, we have got events at Easter and we have got events in September. It is really so important for the economy and to drive visitation that we continually have these incredible events. When we talk about driving the Victorian economy, the actual impact on the economy is to the tune of $3.3 billion annually and over 15,000 jobs. This is really, really significant when it comes to jobs in Victoria as well as being an economic driver.

Certainly Ballarat is no exception. I am incredibly proud of everything we do in Ballarat when we put on events. We are looking forward to hosting the Western Bulldogs again, one of the highlights for me. We talked about club membership. I am a member of two clubs. I am a Geelong cat and I have a Ballarat Western Bulldogs membership as well, so I have two memberships. That is how much I support my electorate, and we are delivering in the electorate of Wendouree.

I want to make mention of the Ballarat sports package, which is delivering more world-class sporting facilities for elite and grassroots players alike. The Allan Labor government is delivering an additional 5000 new permanent seats at Mars Stadium and building a brand new athletics track next door at the old Ballarat Showgrounds site. We are continuing our commitment to Selkirk Stadium, the home of basketball in Ballarat, with upgrades to courts, lighting and broadcasting, with both locations receiving accessibility improvements. We know that we want everyone to be able to enjoy watching all-Star football and all-Star basketball, and accessibility is really important.

Talking all things basketball, I want to wish the Ballarat Miners teams all the best for this week’s prelim finals. As the proud number one ticket holder for the Ballarat Miners women’s team I am strongly supporting our women in their game against the Keilor Thunder on Saturday night. We are playing away from home. As well, our men’s team are taking on the Sandringham Sabres. I have already got a bet with the member for Sandringham over who is going to bring home the win, so ‘Go Miners’ I say, and I look forward to getting that drink off the member for Sandringham.

But it does not just stop there in terms of the Ballarat package. There is so much investment going on in sport across my electorate. Through the council support package we are delivering for Ballarat North a $5 million upgrade to the Frank Bourke Oval, with new club rooms and new facilities at Ballarat North at the number two oval. It is great news for the North Ballarat Football and Netball Club and the North Ballarat Cricket Club. One of my favourite election commitments is $8.4 million for the Marty Busch Reserve in Sebastopol for huge upgrades. So when we are talking about state sport we are not just talking about Melbourne, we are talking about state sport, and Ballarat loves its sport. I am so pleased that we are doing great things.

Just one final thing: we just announced two weeks ago $1 million for the Ballarat Aquatic & Lifestyle Centre for new change rooms and new supports for people with disabilities to be able to use the pool. I could not be prouder of what we are doing working with the City of Ballarat to ensure that recreational facilities are open to all. Then we have got the Get Active Kids budget, but I am going to get back to this very important issue of gender equality in sport and what that means, because we have done stuff with Change Our Game. We have got $18 million invested in increasing women’s board representation.

But back to the bill. The bill before us proposes a number of amendments to a variety of acts, including the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Act 1985, relating to the National Tennis Centre and Olympic Park; the State Sport Centres Act 1994, concerning the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, the State Netball and Hockey Centre, Lakeside oval and the Knox Regional Sports Park; and the Melbourne Cricket Ground Act 2009, which guides administration of the G; and of course the Kardinia Park Stadium Act 2016 and my beloved Kardinia Park, home of the mighty Geelong Cats – as our song says, ‘down at Kardinia Park’. Further administrative and statutory amendments to change the Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Act 1985 and the ANZAC Day Act 1958 are also included.

Many of the changes proposed across these acts have similar goals in order to support consistency of governance in major sporting institutions and also regarding ministerial delegation, so it is really tidying things up to make sure that they are reflective of what we need in the 21st century. For example, several amendments concerning the Kardinia Park Stadium Act, the State Sport Centres Act and the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Act will facilitate the delegation of lease approvals by the minister to the department. This does not have to be managed by a minister. The minister will remain responsible for major leases of course which concern an entire precinct or which include 21-plus-year terms, while minor leases within these precincts can be considered at a more appropriate level.

The bill also removes the need for approval from the Minister for Environment, of all people, for leases concerning Melbourne and Olympic Park, although the holder of that portfolio will oversee the leases at Gosch’s Paddock, where the Magpies train. Other specific decision-making processes can be delegated – namely, the MCG floodlight determinations and the Kardinia Park event management declarations – to allow for a reasonable degree of flexibility for staging events at such iconic locations. When we talk about the managing of these things, we know it is so important.

This legislation will also improve the administration of managing bodies across these various sporting grounds. The maximum membership of the MCG Trust and the State Sport Centres Trust will be expanded by one and four members respectively. This change will allow the trusts to further incorporate broader skill sets and maintain the personnel necessary to meet their responsibilities.

We all know that the MCG is iconic. It is our Colosseum – the home of AFL grand finals, the Boxing Day test, the 1956 Olympics, the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the Taylor Swift Eras tour. It is a national treasure for all Victorians, and that is why the MCG Trust is so important.

I want to acknowledge former Premier and fellow Ballaratian the Honourable Steve Bracks AC, who does a great job of chairing the MCG Trust, as well as some former trust board members, including my friend the amazing Belinda Duarte AM. Belinda is a proud First Nations woman who grew up in Wendouree and who served as a board member of the MCG trust for five years, and I particularly want to acknowledge the important contribution Belinda has made to the reconciliation action plan advisory group of the MCG Trust.

One of the reasons I did want to speak on this bill was to have the opportunity to acknowledge former Senator Linda White, who died earlier this year, who served as a board member of the Melbourne Cricket Ground Trust from 2017 to 2022 prior to becoming a Labor senator for Victoria in the federal Parliament. I had the great honour of attending her memorial service. One of the key things that kept coming up in the wonderful speeches about Linda and her life was her love of the MCG, and we really celebrated the important work that she did with the MCG Trust.

In the closing moments I will just say that we have got some other important amendments regarding governing and alterations to vacancy procedures for some of the trusts, including Kardinia Park again as well as the Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Board, and we will introduce ministerial discretion regarding the appointment of Tennis Australia and Tennis Victoria members to ensure that the candidates are suitable for their positions, and remuneration will also now be permitted in line with other memberships of the trusts.

In concluding, I welcome the introduction of the State Sporting Legislation Amendment Bill 2024, and I commend the bill to the house.

You can take a look at more of my speeches to Parliament here.