Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sports clubs in my electorate are asking why the neighbouring Liberal-held electorate of Robertson received $1.09 million from the Community Sport Infrastructure grant program but Dobell received $416,000. Why did the Liberal candidate for Dobell announce a grant as an election promise, much like Georgina Downer's novelty cheque? Dobell and Robertson are in the same local government area, the Central Coast Council area. Dobell has just as many sporting clubs who need funding. Why did Robertson get double the money? My office, like many others, wasn't appropriately informed about these grants. Central Coast Council found out via websites and a joint media release from Senator McKenzie and the member for Robertson. I wasn't given this opportunity. Many local sports clubs weren't even aware these grants were available.

A football club in Robertson—and I'm a strong supporter of women's sport and women's participation in sport, as we all are—was given two grants. One of these was $488,000 for women's change rooms and upgrades. It scored 55—below Sport Australia's funding threshold of 74 out of 100. Now we learn of another slush fund. This government secretly spent $150 million, supposedly for female change rooms, but only $20 million was spent on women's sporting facilities. The other $120 million was splashed on swimming pools, almost entirely in coalition-held marginal seats. Our sporting community deserves better.