TOUR DOWN UNDER

Ms CICCARELLO (Norwood) (15:04): Will the Premier outline the next steps following the decision to make the Tour Down Under the first Pro Tour cycling race outside Europe?

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (15:05): I want to pay tribute to Vini Ciccarello, the member for Norwood, who, probably more than any other member of parliament in this state's history, has put the bicycle on the front line of political debate. The member for Norwood has done for bicycles what Don Dunstan did for pink shorts. I have to say, also, that the member for Mawson (who is not here with us today) and the member for Norwood have been two of the great protagonists supporting the Minister for Tourism in getting Pro Tour status for the Tour Down Under.

Late on Thursday 27 September (South Australian time), while I was attending the Silverchair and Powderfinger concert, it was announced in Stuttgart, Germany, that South Australia's own Tour Down Under would become the first Pro Tour cycling race outside Europe—a year quicker than planned. Members will recall the scenario earlier in the year when we were up against China and California. Never has the Pro Tour been conducted outside Europe. The President of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), Mr Pat McQuaid—a French-speaking Irishman—announced that the Pro Tour series would kick off in South Australia in January 2008—a year earlier than that for which we had originally been bidding. In making the announcement in Stuttgart, Germany, Pat McQuaid said:

This is a just reward for an event going into its 10th year that gets better and better each year, increased media attention in Europe and is a testament to the sport of cycling...I am personally pleased as this is working towards the globalisation of the sport, because this will be the first time a Pro Tour event will be held outside Europe.

He said other things, as well, but, obviously, I am far too modest to read them into Hansard. The news is a major victory for our state and the best present possible for the Tour Down Under's 10th birthday next year. We will be the first country outside Europe to host Pro Tour and our race will be the first on the Pro Tour calendar for next year. That is very important. It will not only be essential and compulsory for the world's best riders to be in Adelaide but also it will be the first Pro Tour of the season—which gives us that fantastic advantage. This is the highest ranking and highest honour that could be given to our Tour Down Under.

There could not be any bigger television advertising campaign for South Australia and, obviously, this would give us the type of publicity that money could not buy. It will beam South Australia through television screens around the world as the planet's best cyclists wind their way through some of our most stunning countryside. We know that we have a huge task to deliver a year ahead of time and work has already started in earnest under the direction of race director, Mike Turtur, and his team. While there is much work to be done, we are confident that we can deliver a Pro Tour race in less than 100 days, making us part of this historic milestone in world cycling.

A South Australian Tour Down Under contingent—and this is the breaking news I know members are waiting for—is in Italy this week at Lake Como (where George Clooney lives). Unfortunately, I am unable to be there this week for further talks with cycling's world governing body UCI. EventsSA's Leanne Grantham and race director Mike Turtur will meet with the UCI's Pro Tour licensing commission in Italy in the next day or two to finalise the logistics and the finer details for the 2008 event. The meetings present the opportunity for organisers and team owners to prepare for the best race possible in January 2008. I am told that team itineraries will be high on our agenda, as well as the travel, accommodation and meal arrangements. The trip coincides with the last cycling race of the UCI cycling season and the UCI Pro Tour gala, where the UCI annual cycling awards are presented. South Australia has been asked to supply vision of our event to be screened at the UCI end of season function, the first of many overseas promotions of our race and our state. This trip also provides an opportunity to explore cross promotional marketing ideas with other UCI Pro Tour event organisers, increasing our ability to potential event visitors in our key international markets.

I want to make special mention of the Minister for Tourism, whose leadership in winning the Pro Tour has been critical—in fact, she even conducted at least some of the negotiations in French, I am reliably told, including some parts of her negotiations with Pat McQuaid, who seemed confused, given that he is an English-speaking Irishman. I am also very pleased with the great work of Mike Turtur, who is the inspiration for this event, and I have certainly been pleased to have discussions with Jean-Marie Leblanc in Paris and also with Pat McQuaid in London in May. This has been a great joint effort to help secure what I think will be one of the great wins for South Australia. This is the ultimate reward for a state that has made itself the cycling capital of Australia—and, indeed, the Southern Hemisphere—by truly embracing the sport and turning on a race that is second to none.