Belinda Neal (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in particular to congratulate the Australian women’s football squad, otherwise known as the Matildas, for their victory in the 2010 Asian Football Confederation Women’s Asian Cup. The Matildas beat the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea team 5-4 on penalties following a one-all draw after extra time at Chengdu Sports Centre in China on 30 May this year. This thrilling result was brought home by Kyah Simon, an Indigenous teenager from Sydney’s western suburbs, who scored to secure victory in her first ever penalty shootout.

The Matildas are the first Australian team to win the Women’s Asian Cup, beating the tournament favourites, Japan, in order to contest the final against Korea. Ben Buckley, Chief Executive Officer of Football Federation Australian said—and I am using his words, so I take no responsibility for the descriptive terms:

The girls have made history today, by winning the first major tournament by a senior team since Australia joined the Asian Football Confederation four years ago.

This is an enormous achievement by a team of dedicated, talented sportswomen who have trained for years to reach this level of elite competition. The Matildas are a credit to international football—to the sport of soccer, as we call it in Australia—and they are ambassadors for women’s sport in our community. I put it to you, Mr Deputy Speaker Schultz, that the Matildas deserve much greater recognition for this historic win than they have received to date.

They have done what no other Australian football team has done by winning the Asian Cup against highly competitive rivals, including Korea, China and Japan amongst many others. More can be done by the national press and media commentators to provide teams such as the Matildas with their fair share of coverage and public recognition. This, in itself, will help the sport to grow.

On 20 May this year, the Minister for Youth and Sport, Kate Ellis, released a new report: Towards a level playing field: sport and gender in Australian media, a report that provides a valuable insight into the gender inequality of sports media coverage in Australia. Towards a level playing field revealed that, in 2008, coverage of women in sport made up just 9 per cent of all sports coverage on Australian television news and current affairs. In contrast, male sport occupied 81 per cent of television news and current affairs. This is obviously completely inequitable and unjust. Horseracing by itself receives more airtime in the Australian media market than all women’s sport combined. This lack of coverage in Australia continues to cause serious problems for our women athletes in securing sponsorship. Liz Ellis, former captain of the Australian netball team, had this to say about women’s sport on a recent episode of Good News Week:

I don’t like the term ‘women’s sport’. It makes it sound like crocheting—you know, something that little old ladies get out and do occasionally.

No! It’s women playing sport.

For example, the Matildas are the only Australian football team who have ever won anything.

So it’s not ‘women’s sport’, it’s just sport played by chicks who are good at it.

Sports played by women deserve greater media coverage and public recognition and I rise in the House to give the Matildas just that—the recognition they deserve. They are great sportswomen and I am certainly very proud to be associated with them. I hope that, in future, the national press and media will give these women, and many other women who play sport well, the recognition that they deserve.

Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to strongly support the comments made by the member for Robertson and to support the motion on behalf of the Matildas and all women sportspeople in Australia. I also strongly agree—and I see, Mr Deputy Speaker Schultz, that you are shaking your head—that women’s sport—

Alby Schultz (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, I am nodding.

Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You are nodding? I am so pleased to see that. Women’s sport certainly needs a serious increase in the amount of profile, recognition and respect it receives, because women in no way commit any less than anyone else competing in sport. The Matildas, as we know, were ranked fourth on the continent when they arrived in China for the 2010 AFC Women’s Asian Cup but, the Matildas being the Matildas, they had a lot of confidence about what they could achieve. That confidence was well placed. As we have heard, they beat Korea in that penalty shoot-out. Even more significantly, we have heard that they were the first Australian team, male or female, to win an Asian title at any level. It was, I have read, Australia’s very first piece of major silverware. They beat their more famous male equivalents to that honour. That is something that has not been appropriately recognised.

Melissa Barbieri, the captain, said that the Australian Women’s Asian Cup win over North Korea was achieved with plenty of skill and heart. I think that is what we see in our women athletes. The win qualified the team for the upcoming 2011 Women’s World Cup finals. The Matildas were mobbed by the media and supporters on their return to Australia and I want to see that continue. These were people who wanted to share and celebrate the success and achievements of the team. As we know, these women are very keen to be role models for other young women who want to achieve in sport. Nobody in this room should underestimate the value of sport to young people, particularly in rural and regional communities such as the one I represent, through its encouragement of participation and team-building.

The Matildas would be very strong role models for young people such as Tash Rigby and Domonique Fedele, who are part of our South West Academy of Sport soccer and athletes program. To Amy Fortescue, who participated in the under-17 state female soccer team of 2009, and to all those great young girls, who, at a very young age, go out on the soccer field—

Alby Schultz (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It now being 8.30 pm, the time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. The member for Forrest will of course have leave to continue speaking when the debate is resumed.