Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

and Senator Conroy, true to form, chimes in. He likes to play politics with the list, while failing to understand its practicalities or its benefits. For example, Labor was alarmed at the recent seven-year $150 million deal struck between the Football Federation of Australia and Fox Sports to deliver on pay television all Socceroo home matches, the A-League domestic club competition, the Asian Football Confederation championships league, the 2007 and 2011 Asian Cup tournaments, the Asian Cup qualifiers and selected World Cup qualification matches in 2008-09.

These events were never even on the list. I would have thought that the deal would be welcome because it secures the long-term financial stability of the game and it will mean that a significant package of matches will be available on pay television. We will continue to work to ensure that events legitimately on the sports rights list will be available for consumers on free-to-air television.