Anika Wells (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lalor for her question and for her ongoing passionate devotion to women's sport and lifting up women's and girls' participation in sport. I know that like many Australians she was up well past three this morning cheering the Diamonds on, and I thank her for her form.

What a game! And it was made even better by the fact that, from broadcasting to camera crew to commentators, it was all women this morning. Firstly, I want to give a huge congratulations to the Diamonds—to Coach Stacey Marinkovich, Captain Liz Watson and their team—for trouncing the old enemy, England. Bravo! A 61-45 defeat of the Roses, Kiera Austin with an MVP performance of 15 goals, a fairytale ending for Ashleigh Brazill—the Diamonds just secured Australia's 12th Netball World Cup championship in 16 attempts since 1963.

Our female athletes are excelling on the world stage. Our female athletes are changing sport in this country forever. The women's football World Cup has ended any and all arguments about the popularity and importance of elite women's sport. Women's sport is not a phase, it is not a nice-to-have, it is not a charity; it is thrilling, it is brilliant and it is here to stay.

The Women's World Cup is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to foster inclusion, diversity and participation for women and girls. Just look at the Matildas' 20-year-old superstar Mary Fowler. Mary grew up in Cairns sleeping in caravan parks and learning to play football on Mission Beach. She's now getting literal goals in front of record global crowds. Sport has completely changed Mary's life.

And, because it is always more than sport, it is always beyond the result as well. The successes we are seeing are not cures. Women still face major barriers on many fronts—societal, cultural and procedural. Although there is strong women's participation in grassroots sport, girls are far less likely to progress to high-performance or professional roles than men are in this country. They are far less likely to become sporting officials, far less likely to become sporting chairs and far less likely to become sporting CEOs. In Tokyo, 51 per cent of our Australian athletes were women but less than 20 per cent of the coaches were women.

But sport can be a driver for inclusion. In the lead-up to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games we must and will use sport to help tackle issues of race and of gender. This government is determined to support people to achieve their dreams, from playground to podium and from unmown suburban lawns to walking out onto a World Cup pitch in front of 80,000 people. Just like Mary Fowler, just like Alanna Kennedy and—from my lips to God's ears—just like Sam Kerr at 8:30 pm tonight!

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