Andrews Asleep on White Night Future

Shadow Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Heidi Victoria

Facts:

September 2010: The Coalition announced plans for the White Night cultural festival for Melbourne.
Source:  ABC Radio News, 28 September 2010.
June 2012: The Coalition Government confirmed plans for the White Night Melbourne festival to be held in late February 2013.   Source: media release – 13 June 2012.
White Night Melbourne events were held in 2013, 2014 and 2015 – going on to attract about half a million people to the city.
The future of the 2016 event remains in limbo, with the expected date for the event now only six months away, leaving organisers and traders with a shrinking time to prepare.

What Daniel Andrews said about the future of the White Night event:
“I think this event’s got a big future and we’ll have more to say about it soon.’’  Source:  The Age, 22 February 2015.
A 2014 report by Ernst and Young found Victoria’s major events contributed
$1.8 billion to the state’s economy and attracted 300,000 interstate and international visitors.

Comments from the Shadow Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Heidi Victoria:
“It’s been nearly six months since Daniel Andrews promised to unveil plans for the future of the event ‘soon’ and with only six months to go, organisers and traders are still being left in the dark.
“This is more hypocrisy from a man who once said Victoria had become a ‘sleeping giant’.  It’s Daniel Andrews who’s asleep and it’s half a million event-goers who are paying for his slumber.
“This event is an outstanding international success story for Melbourne which delivers enormous benefits for jobs and spending for our tourism and hospitality sectors.”

Media contact: John Deller – 0400 496 596