Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Hansard source

World cup bids are undertaken by the governing bodies of football federations; they are not undertaken by governments. It is a decision for Football Federation Australia to make in terms of future bids for world cups. What I will say is that while we did lose, and it was bitterly disappointing to lose, one thing that Australians do very well in sport is pick ourselves up and try again; we never stop competing.

The good news is that we have been successful in winning the Asian Cup, which is now one of the largest sporting events in Asia. Football is now the number one sport in Asia. Close to a billion people in Asia watched the last Asian Cup, and Australia now has the possibility of putting on a first-class Asian Cup in 2015. That is something that we will be very working closely on.

In terms of reform of FIFA, there has been discussion about reform, and something I support is that all nations get a vote in the bidding process. (Time expired)