Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that the Government's Play Our Way program:

(a) was announced 12 months ago, as a back-foot response to the Opposition's $250 million announcement for supporting community sporting infrastructure across the country;

(b) has left community sporting organisations in the lurch, with program applicants still unaware if they have been successful and frustrated by funding uncertainty; and

(c) was just more policy on the run from the Government, which has been proven by this significant, unexplained delay; and

(2) calls on the Government to:

(a) stop prioritising photo opportunities over the real action needed to support sports participation in Australia; and

(b) support the sporting infrastructure communities need as more young Australians are inspired to get out there and get active, and immediately provide an update on the Play Our Way program.

Well, the lack of sleep was worth it, wasn't it, to watch our athletes in Paris achieve our highest Olympic medal tally ever? It is a real credit to the efforts of every single one of them, but we should recognise that no-one gets there on their own. From the parents to the coaches to the sporting clubs, so much has got to go right for an athlete to reach the top level, and a big part of that is ensuring access to the right facilities, which was the promise of Labor's Play Our Way program.

Let's remember the context of Labor's policy announcement. During the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, our Matildas were remarkable, and there was a real belief that they could go all the way. The Prime Minister then promised a one-off public holiday if they won the tournament. This was a popular stunt, of course, that would have cost the economy some $2 billion and would have adversely impacted small businesses when they could least afford it.

Well, we believed in an alternative approach that would build on the legacy of our female sporting heroes in a positive and transformative way. So we announced our commitment to deliver $250 million towards ensuring that women and young girls playing grassroots sport have access to appropriate and improved facilities. We also announced we would seek state and territory funding to match our investment, generating a total investment of $500 million. Just days after our announcement, Labor announced a program of their own. While this was, as this motion describes, a backfoot response to our announcement, I still welcomed it. I welcomed this investment because there is a real need to improve sporting infrastructure across Australia, especially regional Australia.

However, here we are, 12 months after Labor's announcements, with nothing to show for it. Community sporting organisations have been left in limbo, with clubs that are still unaware of whether they've been successful. This, of course, grinds those sporting organisations' plans to upgrade to a halt. This delay makes clear that this was simply more policy on the run by this government and that those opposite, once again, care more about the announcement than the delivery.

At last week's Parliamentary Friends of The AFL event, it was great to hear we now have the first generation of girls who have a direct pathway from Auskick all the way to a professional national competition. However, as the Leader of the Opposition said at that event, much of the sporting infrastructure that exists is not inclusive of girls. In many places, girls are still expected to use the same change rooms as boys or, in some cases, there is simply no capacity to expand game time to include girls. That is simply not good enough in 2024.

I've been very pleased to advocate on behalf of clubs in my own electorate of Durack and to have previously secured grant funding. For example, in 2019 I was pleased to deliver a $150,000 grant towards upgrades ensuring that women in the Great Northern Football League had access to their own change facilities, but there is more to be done. The Kalannie Hockey Club have written to me about their need for new portable goals on wheels. They play on dirt pitches, and they require the might of the men's footy team to help them move the current set. Just a small investment would be sufficient in enabling the club to source these goals. The West Kimberley Junior Football League has also told me they have reached maximum capacity, with no ability to establish more teams. They also need to improve their storage facilities, with equipment for their 26 teams currently being stored in multiple people's homes. More recently, I enjoyed catching up with the hardworking Cath Widdup. She's the president of the Port Hedland Netball Association, and we discussed the desperate need for a roof over their netball courts. It's the Pilbara. It's hot. This infrastructure is a must.

Let me conclude by talking about the power of sport. As a former basketballer, a former netballer and a 21-year member of the Fremantle Football Club, I can testify that sport brings people together. Participating in sport is so important for the mental and physical health of our young people. Only today we saw more reporting about the number of hours children are spending on social media. I think we'd all agree it would be much better for our children if they spent more time outside on the sporting field than on their devices. So I call on the government: stop the delay, step up and support our sporting clubs. More than ever, our regional Australian sporting clubs need you.

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