Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Sport, Senator Arbib. Can the minister please inform the Senate on the progress of Australia’s bid to host the World Cup in 2022? Can the minister advise the Senate about the outcome of the evaluation report on the World Cup bids, and can he update the Senate on the outcome of the report into Australia’s bid? What does the evaluation report mean for Australia’s bid? Does the minister support my proposition that we should see a Scotland-Australia World Cup final?

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

I appreciate the question from Senator Cameron. I also appreciate the prospect of an Australia-Scotland World Cup final. I inform the Senate that Australia’s bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup is progressing well. We are now only seven days away from the successful bid being announced in Zurich. Australia stands a very good chance of winning the bid. The Senate may be aware that FIFA recently released its evaluation report of World Cup bidding nations. The FIFA report confirms that Australia has the credentials to host the World Cup. This is something that the government has always known, of course, and that is why it is such a strong supporter of the FFA and their bid to bring the World Cup to our shores. We have an outstanding record of hosting major sporting events, such as the Sydney Olympic Games and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, and we would host a first-class World Cup if given the opportunity.

The evaluation report is a credit to the work of Frank Lowy, Ben Buckley and all at the FFA, and it shows that the bid is in with a good chance. Both men, who I have spoken to in the last couple of days, are quietly confident and hopeful, and I am sure that everyone in the Senate will wish them well in the bid. Of course, Australia faces some very stiff competition from countries such as the United States, Qatar, Korea and Japan, and I am sure that the ballot will be extremely close. The announcement on 2 December in Zurich, during which the Governor-General will represent the country and the government, is the culmination of years of hard work from the FFA and the government. Something like $45.6 million has been pledged to the FFA to support the bid. I note that, despite some of the comments from the other side, the bid has full bipartisan support across the parliament. In the other chamber, as we speak, the scarves are out. Every member of the House of Representatives is currently wearing them. (Time expired)

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question.

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cameron, I know there is a little bit of confusion in the chamber momentarily, but you should be heard in silence. Senator Cameron has the call.

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister advise the Senate how the government is supporting the bid by the Football Federation of Australia? Can the minister outline the support the bid has received from state and territory governments?

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

As I said, the government has committed $45.6 million to the Football Federation of Australia to support the campaign. In addition, a task force was set up in January this year of dedicated Commonwealth officers to work with the FFA but also with the states. The bringing of an event such as the World Cup to this country has huge logistical barriers. A World Cup is the largest sporting event globally, has the largest viewership and requires a great deal of work and effort. That is something the government has been doing, working very closely with the FFA through the task force. All of those people working with the task force should be congratulated for their fine work.

The evaluation report, which I referred to earlier, made particular mention of the strong support of the government for Australia’s bid, which is of course very pleasing. The Australian government recognises the important role that football has to play in boosting participation levels and promoting a healthy lifestyle, particularly for younger Australians. Football is already the most popular sport played by Australian children. (Time expired)

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister outline for the Senate the benefits of Australia hosting the World Cup in 2022? In particular, can the minister outline the economic, social and cultural benefits that hosting such a large sporting event will have for Australia?

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

The World Cup is the largest sporting event in the world. One of the key benefits of the World Cup coming to Australia is that games would be played in 10 cities across the country, from Townsville to Geelong, from Perth to Sydney. Unlike the Sydney Olympic Games, where events were held in one city, this will benefit all cities across the country. Even those cities that will not host games will have the chance to host teams as they prepare for the event.

Of course, the Australian government, with the FFA, is also bidding for the Asian Cup in 2015. If we are successful with the World Cup bid, we will also host the Confederations Cup in 2021. So there would be a great deal of benefit from it.

In terms of viewership, just to put this in some perspective, the Sydney Olympics was viewed by 3.6 billion people worldwide. The South African World Cup was viewed by 40 billion people. That is the power of the World Cup; that is why the Australian government is working extremely hard— (Time expired)