David Hawker (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I would like to talk about the threat to one of the great icons of the Victorian racing scene. For 136 years we have had the iconic May Racing Carnival, where one of the highlights is the Grand Annual Steeplechase. This has been run with tremendous support from the local community, yet we now see the Victorian government suddenly and almost without warning putting it under threat and running an inquiry into jumps racing—which just happens to coincide with Racing Victoria being investigated by retired judge Gordon Lewis, who has found that corruption in the industry has been rampant and that money laundering and betting rings have been commonplace. Notwithstanding this, the Minister for Racing, Rob Hulls, has been trying to divert attention from the problems with Racing Victoria under his administration. I have to say it is not acceptable to try and single out things like jumps racing and the Grand Annual Steeplechase in Warrnambool. The CEO of Warrnambool City estimates that the May Racing Carnival attracts between 30,000 and 35,000 people each year, adds $15 million to the local economy and, together with the training of local jumps horses, is worth $20 million. I have to commend the Warrnambool Standard for the work they have done—in just 11 days, nearly 3,000 people have either voted online, signed a petition or shown their total opposition to removing the jumps. (Time expired)