Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Youth and Sport) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kingston for her question. Perhaps a little unusually in this place, I would like to begin answering this question by acknowledging the opposition’s position on this matter. We know that in a bid for any event the size of the FIFA World Cup, bipartisan support is incredibly important. It is incredibly important particularly in this bid and at this point I would like to acknowledge a letter from the opposition to the Prime Minister last week which outlines the bipartisan support for the 2018 World Cup bid. We certainly welcome this.

I am also aware that there has been some degree of public discussion in recent days regarding both the cost and the process for Australia’s bid to host the World Cup in 2018. I would like to take this opportunity to outline some further details on these matters. Recent media speculation has put a figure of $60 million on federal government support for this bid. This is an imaginary figure. No financial commitment has been given at this stage, nor has one been sought by the FFA, but we do continue to have regular discussions with the federations about the best ways that we can support them in this bid. We are only at the beginning of a very lengthy process, and any of these figures which have been quoted widely are both inaccurate and premature.

There has also been some debate regarding which is the best state of Australia to bid for the World Cup. The government is advised that FIFA will make a decision on both the 2018 and the 2022 World Cup at the same time. Whilst we have also been informed that bidding for one will not preclude a bid for the other, our sights remain firmly set on 2018. The FFA have advised us that last week, during the FIFA World Congress, they received many supportive messages from a diverse range of countries regarding our intention to bid for 2018. Indeed, we saw that the President of the Italian FA, Giancarlo Abete, committed to supporting the FFA bid last week. Also, Danny Jordaan, the chief executive of South Africa’s 2010 organising committee, said:

‘It’s going to be a tough fight, but I think that Australia has a great track record with major events.’

Oceania, which has a vote on the FIFA executive, has also said that it is supporting Australia’s bid for 2018. Many nations are aware of the growing importance of Asia in world football and that it is the fastest-growing economic power in the world. In fact, we have been telling many countries that 48 per cent of the cumulative TV audience of 26.3 billion for the 2006 World Cup came from Asia. I am sure that this is a fact that is not lost on FIFA executives or its commercial partners.

There is also enormous economic benefit if Australia can secure a successful bid. One need only look at the income generated by major sporting events such as the Rugby World Cup or the Sydney Olympics to see how much sporting events can generate for us. We know that, in comparison, the FIFA World Cup is very impressive in this regard. But there are also broader benefits to Australia—in tourism, in trade, in building infrastructure for the future and in further enhancing our reputation as a sporting powerhouse. Bringing the World Cup to Australia will not just be good for football lovers but will be good for our country. We welcome the support of all those who have got behind this campaign and we pledge to continue to support the Football Federation of Australia in this enormous and very exciting endeavour.

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