Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Coonan, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. Did the minister watch Australia’s emphatic 3-1 victory over Japan in last night’s World Cup match? Has the minister seen media reports of the outpouring of jubilation by Australians from all sections of the community? Does the minister stand by her comments to Senate estimates that ‘Australia does not have very much participation’ or ‘has very small participation in the cup’ and that world cup football ‘probably attracts the same level of audience interest as the Tour de France’? Does the minister now accept that the Socceroos matches are clearly of national importance and cultural significance? Will the minister reverse her decision and amend the antisiphoning list to include Socceroos World Cup qualifying matches?