Major Sporting Events (Indicia and Images) Protection Amendment Bill 2026
Ms PRICE (Durack) (18:13): I rise to speak on the Major Sporting Events (Indicia and Images) Protection Amendment Bill 2026. The one thing that unites Australians—and even more so here in Parliament House—is sport. Whether it be AFL, rugby, basketball, cricket or soccer, Australians certainly know how to unite and to barrack for their team.
The current FIFA World Cup has shown this. Whether you were in Fed Square in Melbourne, at the local tavern in a regional community or in the office last Friday at lunchtime, Australians everywhere united behind the Socceroos to get them through to the next round, the round of 32. The celebrations of the players when the full-time whistle was blown were inspiring and proved that we are at our best when we are united.
Whilst there was plenty of joy and excitement in those celebrations, I sensed that there was also relief—relief that after all those years of training, using every spare hour to pursue the dream of representing Australia at the World Cup, the dream finally became a reality. No matter where the players are from, their backgrounds or their beliefs, they were proud to be wearing the green and gold on the world stage, and we were, and continue to be, proud of them.
Young Australians right across Australia are dreaming of their own moment of sporting glory. Little do they know that among them is the next Nat Fyfe or Ariarne Titmus or Pat Cummins, or even the next Cathy Freeman or Ash Barty. That dream is born out of the pride they have in watching their current sporting heroes on the national and international stage created by major sporting events.
I turn now to the legislation before us, the Major Sporting Events (Indicia and Images) Protection Act 2014. This act protects the commercial rights associated with major sporting events in Australia, protecting against fake merchandising. This bill amends the act by changing the process by which a major sporting event will be recognised.
It does so by proposing that events are recognised by a delegated instrument, moving power from the parliament and instead giving power to the executive. The government claims this bill modernises legislation to recognise a future major sporting event via a disallowable legislative instrument, making the process more efficient. However, whilst some may claim that it might create efficiencies, it does so by trading off on transparency.
Members of parliament will only see the decisions once they are law. This debate is not whether indicia or images should be protected or not, because they already are, and, of course, we all agree they should be protected. The debate is on the philosophy of legislating.
The key theme of legislating is that all laws should be placed in primary legislation, in the power of the legislature, unless it is critical to do otherwise. There has been no argument made by the government as to why it is critical to change the legislative process within this amendment bill. Under this current act, Australia has hosted numerous major sporting events that have been legislated under this act.
These include the 2020 Women's T20 World Cup, the 2022 Men's T20 World Cup and the record-breaking 2023 Women's World Cup. There are also other major events in the future to be recognised by this act, such as the 2027 Rugby World Cup, the 2028 Men's T20 World Cup and the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I am sure many Australians are counting down for these events, as am I—events that will unite our great nation once again.
Australians—well, we all know they love their sport, but they love their sporting stars even more. Australians expect their government to do all it can to help our sporting stars to reach their potential. Sadly, the Albanese government has a poor track record when it comes to supporting our sporting stars, often leaving them in the lurch.
In Senate estimates, Australian Sports Commission CEO, Kieren Perkins—another superstar—confirmed that circa 2,000 athletes currently receive direct athlete support. However, they have no certainty that their scholarships will continue beyond today. These are athletes who have been asked to make major career and education decisions with no idea if they will continue to be supported by their government.
With the next Olympics just two years away and Brisbane on the horizon, this is disgraceful, and we should do better. In contrast, the US and China both operate on multi-year funding cycles to give their coaches and athletes genuine long-term certainty. Adding further weight to this, the government has dealt a $182 million blow to grassroots sport.
Programs such as Sporting Schools, Play Well, Local Para Champions and Local Sporting Champions are all facing uncertainty beyond the next 12 months. The Sporting School program has two million children participating in free after-school sport this year alone. The government wants to strip the ongoing funding for these programs, slashing the sporting grants budget from $330 million in 2025-26 to $151 million in 2029-30, by almost half.
These programs help millions, particularly young Australians, stay active, connected and involved in sport. By cutting support for community, school and disability sport programs, families and local clubs across regional Western Australia will be hit particularly hard. Instead of backing grassroots sport, Labor is more interested in protecting their bottom line and creating more uncertainty for the organisations delivering these programs.
The coalition supports the protection of indicia and images for major sporting events. The government has not made a clear case as to why the parliament should lose transparency and concentrate powers into the executive and the minister of the day. I note that the scrutiny of bills committee will convene tomorrow to consider this bill, and I will be monitoring the progress with interest.
This is about more than just legislation; this is about protecting the integrity of events that inspire our young Australians to dream about playing on the MCG or at Wimbledon. When our athletes wear the green and gold, they carry millions of Australians with them literally on their back. The merchandise worn in stadiums, around the world and in schoolyards are symbols of aspiration and of national pride.
The fabulous international sporting events that Australia has hosted and will be hosting in the future must be protected to continue to inspire the next generation of sporting stars. While the debate here this evening in this chamber is about process and legislative structure, the impacts will be felt beyond parliament. It will be felt in backyards, on school ovals and by every Australian who dreams of representing Australia.
I'd like to close by taking this opportunity to wish the Socceroos all the very best against Egypt this Saturday. We will be watching very early from Western Australia, and I know that the Socceroos will give it everything. They will give it all and make Australia proud.
Come on Socceroos. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Mr Birrell: Oi!
Oi! Oi! Question agreed to.
Bill read a second time. Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment. Federation Chamber adjourned at 18:23