Superloop Adelaide 500

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (14:30): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment regarding the Adelaide 500.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: Today, the minister announced that Superloop was the new sponsor of the Adelaide 500. Can the minister advise what is the value of the contract, what is the length of the contract, what was the open and transparent process that was conducted to appoint Superloop, and how well developed are preparations for the race?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (14:30): I thank the honourable member for her question and her ongoing interest in the Adelaide 500. In fact, today we did announce the new sponsor, which is Superloop, so the race will now be known as the Superloop Adelaide 500.

The member opposite asked me the question about the value of the contract. She would know that it is very important that large contracts, this one in particular, be commercial-in-confidence. She asked the length of the contract. I am sure that they have read in the media commentary since the spectacular unveiling of the logos and the race cars that it is for a three-year period. Members opposite would know that we have a contract in place with Supercars until 2021, and negotiations will begin next year in relation to the event beyond 2021. Superloop is very happy to be involved up until 2021 and be a frontrunner, and is very likely to be involved in the sponsorship, whatever the arrangements are, with Supercars post 2021.

My recollection of the questions was what was the transparent and open process. It was the same process that operated under the former government, that the Tourism Commission and Events SA and the motorsport team negotiated with a whole range of potential sponsors and have been able to come to an arrangement with Superloop. My recollection is that they provided the back office wi-fi support NuSkope at the race over the last four years, so this has been a bit of an evolution for Superloop to step up to be the sponsor. Maybe the member opposite can remind me of the fourth question that she asked.

The Hon. C.M. Scriven: How well developed are the preparations for the race?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Thank you. The preparations are well advanced. There has been some criticism of the timing of ticket sales. For this year's event, the 2018 event, tickets went on sale on 1 November. They went on at midnight today, and if I look at my watch, today is 25 October, so we are actually six days ahead of last year. It is well progressed.

I am trying to think of the names of the little trucks that jump over the hurdles. I can't remember the exact—

The Hon. K.J. Maher: Stadium trucks.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Stadium trucks. I thank the member. Unfortunately, CAMS hasn't licensed them for this particular race. We would have liked to have them there, but public safety is very important to the Tourism Commission and the government, and unfortunately CAMS hasn't licensed that particular event to come back to Adelaide, so we can't have them. Other than that, it will be an action-packed event.

I hear that there has been some commentary about Superloop from some of the opposition members, that they don't know them. This is why companies like Superloop are actually sponsoring events. It is interesting to note that Superloop is a provider of telecommunication internet services in the Australian Asia-Pacific and has 45 staff already in Adelaide as the lead office for the Superloop home broadband. Through the expansion of their own networks and access to the nationwide NBN network, they are currently being transformed into a complete IT provider for both residential and business. They anticipate the Adelaide workforce will significantly increase as the Superloop home broadband ramps up.

If their expansion plans go well, they are contemplating having 200 employees in Adelaide. Not only are they investing in our iconic Adelaide 500, but they are also investing in our economy and growing our state's economy. I think it is something that we should be very grateful for, that Drew Kelton and the team from Superloop have decided to sponsor the race and be the naming rights sponsor and also invest in our great state.

We are excited by the opportunity that this partnership brings. We are combining a relatively new brand in the Adelaide market together with one of our state's most iconic events. The Adelaide 500 is a much loved event on the South Australian events calendar. It injects millions of dollars in economic benefit into the state. This partnership provides a tremendous opportunity to grow the event even further, while continuing to deliver an adrenaline-filled, four-day festival for fans of all ages.

Today, I officially launched the Superloop Adelaide 500. It is set to be a sensational festival of motorsport and entertainment in 2019. The member opposite asked how well-prepared we are. It will be headlined by the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. Motorsport fans can also look forward to the popular Dunlop Super2 Development Series, the Porsche Carrera Cup, the Touring Car Masters, the Aussie Racing Cars and the Audi R8 LMS Cup.

Adelaide comes out in force to support our own South Australian supercar driver Nick Percat, who was at the launch today together with his team boss, Brad Jones. Tickets are now on sale. They started selling at lunchtime today to celebrate the 21^st running of the event in February next year. I can also confirm the general admission pricing for the 2019 event will remain unchanged and will continue to provide value for money for fans of all ages. I encourage families to take advantage of the free general admission for children under the age of 14 as long as they are accompanied—

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Ridgway, we are straying off the core of the question now. Is there much more?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Mr President, with due respect, I was asked how well-prepared the preparations are for the event. I'm just trying to outline for the honourable member that, even for children under the age of 14—

The PRESIDENT: I am giving the latitude to finish. I'm just curious. We've gone into ticket pricing and we've gone into an advertising spiel for the sponsor, and we are getting very close to your own leader's four-minute mark.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: I am also reminded that, of course, it was a Liberal government initiative 21 years ago. The former government saw fit to continue it, but it is fabulous to have this race now in its 21^st year. I look forward to seeing all of you in this chamber when you go to the 2019 Superloop Adelaide 500 when it opens the Virgin Australian Supercars Championship from 28 February to 3 March 2019.