Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] There are deep cultural and institutional shortcomings in Australia that continue to put women at risk and continue to mean women face inequality and experience harm. This week we considered the Jenkins report and heard from Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins. It seems to me that the message we need to get as decision-makers, particularly as men, is that it's past time for action and change. Inequality, mistreatment and disrespect are all matters that require cultural change and changes to our systems and laws, but there are structural forms of inequality too. Today I want to speak about what might be regarded as a relatively minor form of that built form of inequality—namely, that throughout our neighbourhoods you will find community sports facilities that reflect the lack of fairness and respect for women and girls. That has been the case for a long time.

In the last few years the AFLW phenomenon has shown us what we've been missing in not being able to support and cheer for women athletes playing our distinctive national sport. But it has also shown that football clubs around Australia simply don't provide adequate facilities for women and girls. Even in sports with a long history of female participation, it is often the case that the toilets and change rooms have been designed and provided for men and boys. The reality is that community sports facilities for women and girls are generally abysmal, if they are not absent altogether, and that is not right or fair. To the extent that it means women have to change in their cars or outdoors, it is ludicrous and it is unsafe.

Next year Australia and New Zealand will host the Women's World Cup, the premier international football tournament for the world game—a different but no less beautiful kind of football. Again, at a time when Australia should be showcasing not just the Matildas—and my constituent Sam Kerr, in particular—but all the incredible young footballers coming through who will be inspired by the event, we know that the facilities to complement that interest are not good enough. Unfortunately, the Morrison government's approach in this area took the form of the thoroughly rotten sports rorts program that included at least one case where a project received money on the basis of upgrading female facilities, even though the club in question had no women's teams.

I know there are facilities in my community that need to be upgraded, and that includes both high-level facilities for teams like the Fremantle Dockers AFLW side and their training HQ at the ARC in Cockburn and where they play at Fremantle Oval in addition to the facilities at numerous local sports clubs.

The Spearwood Dalmatinac club has put its hand up to be part of the Women's World Cup, but the Morrison government is yet to make clear how it will support facility upgrades that will be necessary as part of legacy commitments we have made as the host nation. We cannot continue to have a government that perverts community sports funding for its own political interest while neglecting to address the deeply substandard— (Time expired)