Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment Participation and Childcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today on a matter which is important to the community which I am lucky enough to represent in Adelaide but is also important to thousands more people right across South Australia. It is an issue which I know many members on both sides of the House have been concerned about, and it is fantastic to be able to unite South Australian members from the government and the opposition to stand together and say that we want an end to the uncertainty over the future of the ABC's long-running television coverage of the SANFL football in South Australia, which is a concern for many in our local communities.

Some may see it as frivolous—the number of members who are speaking in the parliament about this issue—and I would reject that. I would say to those people that I am a big believer in the power of sport to unite communities. I am a big believer in the role that sport plays in bringing together those from quite different backgrounds under a common theme of support and rivalry over their local team. In fact, I know that for many in South Australia there is nothing better than heading along to a local game of footy on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon to cheer on their local team, to barrack, and to hope to leave victorious. And that jubilation is something that all of those supporters—in my case in the black and gold, following the mighty Glenelg Tigers—will be sharing.

We also know that not everyone can make it along to those local games. I spoke recently to someone whose elderly father, when he was very sick for the eight years before he passed away, took great comfort in being able to tune in and watch his beloved Redlegs on the television each weekend. I know that when I grew up in country South Australia we relied upon the television coverage to make sure we could follow the same games that our family members in Adelaide would be supporting. So I think it is incredibly important that this coverage is maintained. This is something that has been there for decades and been enjoyed by generations of South Australians. We must ensure that this continues. To support the growing community campaign, to help build greater public awareness of the issues and to make sure that the ABC is well aware of the strong support, I recently launched a petition calling on the ABC to uphold their continued coverage of the SANFL. I am pleased that this petition rests in the offices of each of the federal South Australian representatives so that the local community can go, sign up and make sure that their voice is heard in this debate and so that we can call on the ABC to uphold its charter and continue to broadcast this important community event.