Hansard debates

                 MELBOURNE CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION TRUST BILL
                                 Second reading

  Mr REYNOLDS (Minister for Sport) -- I move:
  That this bill be now read a second time.
Conventions and exhibitions are an increasingly important segment of the tourism
industry, and also carry significant  trade  and  industry development benefits.
The Bureau of Tourism Research has estimated the  annual  value of the meetings,
incentives,  conventions  and  exhibitions  market  at  $3  billion.  Since  the
successful  opening  of  the  Melbourne  Exhibition Centre, Melbourne's share of
future exhibition  bookings, based on data  from the International  Congress and
Convention Association, has been estimated at 30.7 per cent, compared to 22.

7 per cent for Sydney.
When this government  announced  its intention, as part of the Agenda 21 program
to construct the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, it also stated that its aim was to
achieve joint management of first-class convention and exhibition facilities.
The bill therefore puts in place a structure to ensure the integrated management
of  convention  and exhibition  facilities  and services,  which  is critical to
ensuring  Melbourne's  competitive  position  in  these  industries  is  further
strengthened. This will be  achieved by the  establishment  of a Convention  and
Exhibition  Trust,  which   will  have  the  necessary  powers  to  support  the
development of these important industry sectors.

The  bill  will  repeal the Melbourne Exhibition Centre Act 1994 and provide for
land currently vested in  the  Melbourne Exhibition Centre Trust to be vested in
the new trust.  It  also provides that  the  new trust is the  successor  to the
Melbourne Exhibition Centre Trust in any existing agreement  or arrangement. The
new trust will have the power to operate within the cities of Melbourne and Port
Phillip.  This  will  empower the trust to operate and manage events and acquire
land and property within central Melbourne, with  the approval of the  minister.
For example, expansion options may result in land being purchased for use by the
trust for car parking, meeting rooms or other facilities.
Property may be  vested  in the trust and  the  trust may enter  into  lease  or
licence  arrangements  --  for  example,  for  car  parking  or   other  related
activities. The trust may  simply want to have the right to carry out activities
related  to the staging of conventions and exhibitions such as activities on the
Yarra where the current facilities exist.

The aim  is to create a trust  which has the flexibility,  subject  of course to
ministerial  direction, to do whatever is necessary to ensure the convention and
exhibition industry flourishes in Melbourne. Given the wider responsibilities of
the  new trust, its membership  will be increased from  a  maximum of five to  a
maximum of seven members.
The bill confers the  general power of control and direction of the trust in the
minister and a  specific power in the minister  to direct the trust to  use such
amount of its funds,  as  determined  by  the  minister,  for  the  promotion of
Victoria  as  a place for conventions and exhibitions or for any other  purposes
the minister may  determine.  The  trust  will  be  required to submit an annual
report to Parliament  and  to provide the  responsible minister with  an  annual
corporate  plan  which will detail  its programs and  priorities  for the coming
three years.

I  believe  the measures  outlined  in  this  bill  will  accelerate Melbourne's
development as a competitive centre for international and nationally significant
conventions and exhibitions.
I commend the bill to the house.
Debate adjourned on motion of Mr PANDAZOPOULOS (Dandenong).
Debate adjourned until Thursday, 28 November.