Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health, the Minister for Aged Care and the Minister for Sport. What is the government doing to encourage women to participate in sport and what are the benefits of such participation, particularly for women?

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a delight to take a question from the member for Robertson on an important subject such as women and activity. Today, as many of you know, is World Osteoporosis Day. Osteoporosis literally means porous bones. It is a condition which creeps up on women because of lack of bone density over the years. Bones lay down their mass in early to late puberty, and after that they tend to decline. So today, as our government launches the No Time for Never campaign, it is an important reminder, particularly to women, to take time out for themselves and to recognise that, unless they allocate those valuable few minutes—20 minutes to an hour a day—to exercise, preferably a weight-bearing exercise, they will not look after their bones for the long term.

The message to women today from members in here who are supporting World Osteoporosis Day is: put your health first; get as active as you possibly can. The cost of physical inactivity to the Australian economy is estimated at $13 billion a year. These figures do not mean much, because this really is not about saving money for the Health portfolio but about increasing wellbeing for women, increasing health for the long term over the years.

Today I was joined on the ovals at Parliament House by members of soccer-playing teams in the ACT, of all different ages. One particular woman, who looked a little bit older than the rest, said that she had started playing soccer eight years ago. She had not been particularly good at it but had persisted. She found it incredibly enjoyable and now was doing it regularly. Through our $100 million investment into sport in schools, we encourage primary school children to join and participate in the sport of their choice, with connections with their club, because we know that, if you build that connection with organised sport early in your life, you can come back to it at any age.

So, from all of us to all of you in the wider world, there is no time for never: get active today.