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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-05-15 Daily Xml
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Question Time

Cycling Events

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:18): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment on the Tour Down Under.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Last sitting week, the minister was informed in this chamber about the excellent work of the member for Mawson, Leon Bignell, and how the calendar of cycling events in South Australia could continue to grow if the ideas of the member for Mawson were taken up. They included a white road one-day race for UCI tour points, the elevation of the Women's Tour Down Under to World Tour status and a criterium or single day race for Pro Tour points after the TDU, possibly on Kangaroo Island or in Mount Gambier.

We have learnt that the president of the UCI, international cycling's governing body, was in Australia earlier this month, as well as in January last year. My questions to the minister are:

1. Did the minister meet with the UCI president when he was in Australia this month?

2. Did the minister meet with the UCI president when he was in Adelaide in January last year?

3. At either of those meetings, did the minister discuss the proposal formulated by the member for Mawson in his meetings overseas with the president of the UCI?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (14:19): I thank the honourable member for his question. As members would recall, I made some comments around the member for Mawson, the sort of shadow shadow shadow minister for tourism. I made comment that I met with officials.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Ridgway.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: I am trying to give them an answer.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The minister wishes to answer.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: I made it clear that I met with the officials from the UCI during the Tour Down Under when they were here. I can't remember his exact title, but I had dinner and a meeting with him. We had a lengthy discussion.

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Leader of the Opposition, please stop baiting the minister and allow him to answer.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Mr President, I will sit down and not give them an answer if they keep this up.

The PRESIDENT: It's within your—

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: We discussed all the potential opportunities for the women's tour to be a UCI World Tour. We discussed white road events, we discussed what in Europe they call the monument races, all the discussions that former minister Bignell raised via the media last week, or the week before, undermining the hardworking Zoe Bettison, the shadow minister. It was—

The Hon. C.M. Scriven: Yes, we work as a team. Something you know nothing about.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: That's not what I hear about your team members, what they say about you.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Ridgway, you do not respond to interjections. Through me.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Mr President, I will direct it through you. We are fully aware of it. Representatives from the South Australian Tourism Commission, the heads—

The Hon. K.J. Maher: Have you met the president?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: I met with—

The PRESIDENT: Leader of the Opposition, I am very kind in allowing a reasonable number of supplementaries. Restrain yourself and maybe pursue your energies through the supplementary process.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Thank you, Mr President. The head of EventsSA was in Europe, I think in November last year but I will check the date, to go to the UCI meetings to actually have proper in-depth discussions around the future of this event. That's one of the reasons that Santos was very keen to re-engage. They want to see the women's tour lifted to a World Tour event.

Those discussions I had with the officials during the Tour Down Under. I didn't meet with the president when he was here last month. We are talking about 2021, so we are two years away from when those things will become a possibility. We are still working through it. We have had all the meetings we need to have. The information former minister Bignell gave we already knew; we already knew.

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