After days of arrests, enormous protests and accusations of brutality outside the controversial Land Forces Defence Expo, fresh details about the economic impact of the event have been revealed. The Victorian government claims the event tipped $70 million into the state's coffers. And despite significant spend on police presence to counter the hordes of protesters, the government says it's still open to hosting the conference again.
Category
đź“ş
TVTranscript
00:00Violence erupted this week, as police and protesters clashed outside the Land Forces
00:08Defence Expo.
00:12But the government is happier with what unfolded inside the convention centre.
00:16It says 10,000 people attended the event, which attracted 1,000 companies from 31 nations.
00:22It says it will generate at least $70 million for the Victorian economy, a benefit even
00:28its critics are on board with.
00:30Any investment in trying to put Victorian industry on the world stage and to sell Victoria
00:36to the world, which is exactly what Land Forces did, is a good investment.
00:40To compare the figure to other major events held in the city, last year's Grand Prix
00:44brought in $268 million, while the Melbourne leg of the T20 Cricket World Cup two years
00:50ago brought in $210 million.
00:53But the Expo's benefit is offset by about $15 million tipped into additional policing.
00:59The state's resources there in terms of police personnel, equipment, was absolutely enormous.
01:05In my opinion, no amount of money really justifies bringing weapons and war profiteering to our
01:11doorstep.
01:12It's still unclear how much it cost the state to secure the event, the government citing
01:17a confidentiality agreement, but it says it's continuing to work with organisers on the
01:21next event two years from now.