Ticket Scalping

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:16): My question is to the Attorney-General in his capacity as Minister for Consumer and Business Services. In light of far too many recent cases involving the sale and resale of tickets to concerts and sporting events, what will you do to strengthen consumer laws, at the state and national levels, to prevent dodgy pricing practices and online ticket purchases and guard against fraud, particularly where tickets are sold and resold by third parties?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for Consumer and Business Services, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for her question. This is a matter that is of some concern to all of us. I would just like to put some context around the current regulation and what the circumstances are. Can I start off by saying that the one thing we have been lacking—and my ministerial colleague the minister for tourism, recreation and sport, has made this point on many occasions—is a bunch of people coming forward complaining.

What the police are looking for, if they are to investigate matters of this type, is a complainant who can provide particulars of the offence, who can tell the police exactly what happened and who can give evidence in court, if it should be necessary, to establish the facts of any particular case. That is an important matter because, in the absence of a complainant, it should be evident to everybody that it is pretty hard for any prosecution to go forward. That is the first point. The second point is that some years ago, in the lead-up to a particular sporting event, which I think was world cricket—

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell: World cup cricket.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: —world cup cricket—there was a conversation between national cricket bodies and the South Australian government. The conversation was along the lines that, in order for South Australia to be considered as an appropriate or an adequate venue for one of these events to occur, their sponsors needed not to be put in a position where they were subjected to what I think is called 'ambush marketing'. This was a prerequisite for our being a participant in that event.

So what happened, Mr Speaker, as you no doubt would recall, was that the parliament considered the question of ambush marketing and for that purpose actually passed legislation which was designed to provide for an opportunity to prescribe particular events as being events which were protected for the purposes of ambush marketing type tactics. That discretion rests with my ministerial colleague, as it should, because I am nowhere near as wise on matters of sport.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.R. RAU: He knows about them. In fact, I have seen a video of him on YouTube actually catching a football and possibly even a cricket ball. He appears to be able to have that knack of being at sporting events just when the ball comes over the fence, to be in a very visible costume and to be able to capture the ball. It is quite a knack. The point is that we have two completely different problems going on here: one is a problem of ambush marketing, about which we presently do not have complaints; another one is essentially one of exploitation of individuals through some form of—I will use the vernacular—'scalping'. We do not have complaints, at least as far as I am aware, anywhere in government—

Mr Whetstone: Yes, but that's because you get free tickets.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: —of people having been victims of scalping. If somebody can identify an area of the law where—

The SPEAKER: Yes, whoever tapped the glass is right: the minister's time has expired. I call to order the member for Chaffey and the member for Mitchell. Deputy leader.

Ms Bedford interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I'm sorry, is there a—

Ms BEDFORD: I have a supplementary question to that question.

The SPEAKER: I'm sorry. Supplementary, member for Florey.