Mr J. BULL (Sunbury) — I am very pleased to be able to contribute to the debate on the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Amendment Bill 2016. This is an important bill that surrounds the delivery of a piece of infrastructure that will ensure that our most famous sporting precinct only gets better. I was listening intently to the previous speech, and I can recall that last year the member for Melton, the member for Essendon and I and a few other members on this side of the house attended the Victorian Institute of Sport, and what a fantastic amount of work the Victorian Institute of Sport does in supporting those athletes who are up and coming and working hard each and every day to be the very best they can in their respective sports.

It is no secret that Melbourne is the sporting capital of the nation. We are the envy of all other states, and why should we not be? It might be the Australian Open Tennis Championships that you love; perhaps it is the AFL Grand Final, the Melbourne Cup, the Melbourne Marathon or hundreds more fabulous sporting events that make this city what it is, making it tick.

Mr Battin interjected.

Mr J. BULL — I thank the honourable member for his support. Sport, as we know, is an extremely important part of our fabric as Victorians. Sport has a wonderful ability to be able to bring us together and share a common bond. Within my community, the electorate of Sunbury, I know that there are so many who love their sport, whether it is tennis, golf, Australian Rules, soccer, netball, volleyball, cricket — the list goes on. Certainly Sunbury, Gladstone Park, Diggers Rest, Bulla and Gowanbrae are places with wonderful individuals, sporting teams and communities who go out each and every week and each and every weekend and do the very best they can.

I know that as a local member often it is hard to acknowledge the milestones that are celebrated in local sport each week, and at the risk of singling one out I want to take this brief opportunity to mention Shaun Sims from the Diggers Rest Football Club, who recently played his 300th game for the Diggers Rest Burras — a mighty and outstanding achievement.

You only need to look at the recent Olympic Games in Rio to see just how hard our wonderful sportsmen and women work. I want to congratulate all of those who went to Rio and contributed to such a wonderful performance — 29 medals, including 8 gold — especially our Olympic heroes such as Mack Horton, Catherine Skinner and Kim Brennan, who are all Victorians, and the many more who did us so proud on that sporting stage. I also wish the very best to those who are competing in the upcoming Paralympics, and I think that all members will wish those competitors the very best.

The Melbourne and Olympic Parks Amendment Bill 2016 relates to the precinct which includes the tennis centre, and this is one of the many reasons why we are known as the sporting capital of the nation. We have heard this afternoon that the precinct has a long history dating back to the 1800s, and it is certainly worth looking at how we got here today. If we fast-forward to 2016, we know that the Australian Open has grown to be Australia’s largest annual event, reaching over 720 000 visits this year alone. This precinct is an absolutely fantastic space, made better by the previous Labor government that in 2010 secured the Australian Open for 20 years beyond the expiry of the existing arrangement. At the same time, there is a significant commitment of $363 million towards the first stage of a 10 to 15-year $972 million redevelopment of Melbourne Park to ensure this precinct continues to grow and serve the athletes, the competitors and the thousands of Victorians, Australians and people from all over the world who come and visit our wonderful city.

As we have heard this afternoon, this bill relates to the Tanderrum Bridge, which as we have heard, means a welcoming ceremony by the people of the Kulin nations featuring song, dance and a cultural exchange to provide a safe passage for those visiting our great country. I think this is a wonderful name, and certainly through the process of the naming competition it has been a very important gesture. I am certainly of the view that it is a perfect fit for a bridge connecting to a world-renowned sports and entertainment precinct. It is hard to believe that the precinct hosts more than 200 events per year. The requirement for this legislation surrounds the need for certain existing reservations under section 30F of the act to be revoked and to make way for the bridge. New section 30FB inserted by clause 4 of the bill provides for the land and strata of land occupied by the bridge and service boxes to be temporarily reserved under section 4 of the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 for public purposes, in particular for the purposes of the National Tennis Centre.

The footbridge is the centrepiece of the $338 million stage 2 upgrade of Melbourne Park, and it will shave pedestrian travel time between Flinders Street station and Birrarung Marr to under 10 minutes. In terms of the dynamics and the movement around the entire precinct it is certainly going to open up and improve accessibility to the tennis centre and the surrounding areas. At Birrarung Marr and along the river there are a number of fringe events that happen in relation to significant events such as the Australian Open, and we know they bring more and more people to Melbourne Park. We are incredibly privileged to have such a wonderful calendar of sporting events, making us the sporting capital of the nation. We know that these bring thousands of visitors each and every year. It is something that this government and all members on this side of the house are very, very proud of.

I just wanted to take a moment to address some of the comments from the other side, in particular from the shadow tourism minister in relation to claims regarding the Minister for Tourism and Major Events essentially saying that the minister cares very little for tourism in this state. I just wanted to point to things like Visit Victoria, the new Victorian Visitor Economy Strategy, the Regional Events Fund of $20 million, the Business Events Fund of $9 million, $38 million for marketing over two years, Wander Victoria, the additional $80 million being added to the Major Events Fund and the many cultural events we have, such as White Night and the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.

All of these fantastic events bring people to Victoria each and every year, and see them spending their money, booking accommodation and going to restaurants. These are really important things to have, and I certainly want to take the opportunity to commend the minister on his hard work and his dedication to tourism in this state and to sports of all kinds in this state. I think if you check in on the minister’s social media accounts — Twitter or Facebook — you will see there are very few times when he is not at an event, and he works extremely hard — —

Mr Dimopoulos — Hardworking minister!

Mr J. BULL — Absolutely, he is hardworking, member for Oakleigh. The minister gets on with it, and that is what those on this side of the house are all about. We are a government committed to putting people first, to getting things done and to getting on with it for each and every Victorian. What we want to be and what I believe we are is a jobs-generating government that has hit the ground running from day one. Things like Melbourne Metro; the five new stations; two 9-kilometre tunnels; a direct connection, which is very important for my community, from the Sunbury line to the Pakenham-Cranbourne line; and the removal of the 50 most dangerous and congested level crossings are projects that create jobs, that put money into people’s pockets and that ensure that we continue to be the world’s best state and certainly the world’s most livable city.

These are things that this government is particularly passionate about. We are passionate to make sure that we continue to grow, evolve, develop and stay ahead of other states and other territories and ensure that people want to come to Victoria. This is a great place to do business, it is a great place to work and it is a fantastic place to come and watch sport — things like the Melbourne Cup, the AFL Grand Final and the Australian Open. These are all fantastic events that I know members in this house and people in the gallery this afternoon are excited about. I for one am excited about them. This is an important piece of infrastructure and a great bridge, and I look forward to its opening.