MS TIERNEY (Western Victoria—Minister for Training and Skills, Minister for Higher Education, Minister for Agriculture) (17:16): Can I thank all speakers who have made contributions today. This is a bill that sort of covers off on eight main sections, and I think that the process even leading up to today has been quite good. There has been a lot of discussion with the minister’s office as well as departmental advice, and through that I think there has been a lot of clarity added to the discussion. Of course there will be people at the end of the day that will agree and others that will disagree and are not going to support the bill, but at least I think people are clear about what they are basing their vote on. I think it has been handled in a very good way, and I thank everyone that has been involved in it.
I just wanted to mention the issue of cost-recovery measures because this has been an issue that Mr Limbrick has drawn to our attention and that he wanted some clarity on. Of course the advisers have been involved in it, but can I also say that it has been very fortuitous that one of my ministerial advisers has been a festival director of the Port Fairy Folk Festival as well as the Apollo Bay Music Festival and indeed the general manager of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, so she was able to provide some very hands-on, practical advice in terms of how this would operate and what actually happens now when it comes to cost recovery and the arrangements that are in place in terms of police.
This amendment is intended to target large events that are run for profit. It will not impact on small local community events. I can also confirm that should this bill pass, further consultation will be undertaken with stakeholders prior to the amendment coming into effect. The bill also provides Victoria Police with the power to waive all or part of the fees where appropriate, which is exactly what police currently do. We are not seeking to change this process in any way; in fact we are seeking to protect it. Victoria Police has established a clear process for determining the level of resourcing needed to support the safe operation of an event and for discussing the amount and type of resources with an event organiser. Costs are agreed in advance and are not altered in response to any conduct or incident which occurs at the event.
Victoria Police have confirmed that whilst passive alert detection dogs, or sniffer dogs, may be deployed outside event venues to deter drug use, this is considered a police operation. It would also be the case that it is considered a police operation where police are required to attend in response to protests around an event. It is not the police’s intention that charges for police operations such as sniffer dogs will be imposed on any event organisers at all, so there is quite a distinction that is I think quite clear in relation to that. I think that those are the two key points that Mr Limbrick had. The sniffer dogs and the actual waiving arrangements that are currently in place now will be essentially for outside events as well. With that, again, I thank members for their contributions today and in the lead-up to today, and I wish a speedy passage for the bill.
Motion agreed to.
Read second time.
Committed.
