Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

The government is in negotiations to establish a number of contracts. You expand about a hypothetical scenario, and that's reasonable in these circumstances and I will make a couple of points. The government will take every step in its contract negotiations to ensure that they are as secure as possible under whatever eventualities may occur. But of course you're talking about global conflict scenarios, and there are, no doubt, under any such scenarios, possibilities to create some degree of uncertainty. So, whilst contract negotiations will seek to provide as much certainty as possible into the future, the other aspect to that, as I've emphasised, is that the government seeks to mitigate—to spread its risk as such—by ensuring that contracts occur across geographically diverse locations and, indeed, hopes that there may be some enthusiasm for the establishment of a domestic ticketing market as well, which would ensure support there.

I also, again, emphasise that those contracts must, under the arrangements being put in place, be underpinned by bilateral agreements or arrangements with the host country as well. So there are a number of different safeguards that are put into the legislation and the operation of it in this regard.