Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian government is proud to be supporting the International Cricket Council's ICC T20 World Cup in 2020 here in Australia. This includes coordinating support across a number of areas, including safety, security, taxation, immigration, Customs, intellectual property rights and, of course, event promotion. The coalition has this week thrown our support behind the event by providing $5 million in funding to Tourism Australia in the 2019-20 budget to market the event specifically in India, Australia's fastest growing tourism market.

Earlier this week, the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment and I had the pleasure of meeting with Australian cricketers to make this announcement. We met with Billy Stanlake and Kristen Beams here in Canberra. We discussed the importance of promoting the event on an international scale and ensuring that Australian sport remains a world leader, which we are recognised as being, in hosting major international sporting events. It has been fantastic to see the Australian women's cricket team and their dominance in the recent Ashes competition. I congratulate them on their success and trust that will continue into the final game tonight. I certainly hope that that success rubs off on the men's team, who commence their Ashes campaign tomorrow night.

Our funding will be used to drive visitation to both the men's and women's tournaments next year. The women's tournament is starting next year. I certainly hope that we can meet the aspiration of hosting the world's largest ever crowd to a women's sporting event on International Women's Day at the MCG for the final next year.