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NICK XENOPHON M.L.C. INDEPENDENT
NO POKIES MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
13
February 2005
FOLLOWING
NEWS OF KYLIE MINOGUE CONCERT TICKETS AT DOUBLE THE PRICE:
TICKET SCALPERS WON’T BE SINGING
‘I SHOULD BE SO LUCKY’
UNDER PROPOSED NEW LAW Tickets
scalpers will be targeted in proposed legislation which will be introduced in
State Parliament this week. The
Summary Offences (Ticket Scalping) Amendment Bill will provide for
fines of up to $5000 for those that resell tickets to sporting events, concerts
and other entertainment events. It goes further than legislation passed in
Victoria in 2002, the Sports Event
Ticketing (Fair Access) Act which
outlaws ticket sales for prescribed major sports events (such as the AFL Grand
Final). The
legislation will allow those who genuinely can’t use their tickets for an
event to resell and cover reasonable expenses of no more than 10% of the ticket
price. Mr Xenophon said: “Ticket
scalpers are vultures who horde tickets with the express aim of making rip-off
profits, which in turn deprives and breaks the heart of genuine fans who can’t
afford the inflated prices.” Mr
Xenophon referred to media reports that tickets for the June Kylie Minogue
concert were being offered at more than double the retail price. “Under
this proposed new law, scalpers will no longer be able to sing ‘I
should be so lucky’.” Mr
Xenophon said that he would seek meetings with the Consumer Affairs Minister
Karlene Maywald and Opposition and cross bench MPs to obtain their support for
the legislation. “This is something that deserves bipartisan support – it’s a basic piece of consumer protection legislation aimed at doing the right thing by genuine fans”.
Written and authorised by Nick Xenophon, 653 Lower North East Road, Paradise, SA 5075
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