Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

PRICE (—) (): If there was something everyone in my home town of Kalgoorlie knew about the Dellar family when I was growing up, it is that we were all sports mad. My siblings and I relished any opportunity that we got to kick a ball or to shoot some hoops. If it wasn't for my mother's own personal experience, hockey might have also been on the table. But it was not just the athletic component that drove our desire to be involved in sport. Community participation, creating new friendships and strengthening existing bonds are all a by-product of being involved in sports, and nowhere is this truer than in regional communities. And I know Madam Deputy Speaker Sharkie understands that as well.

Last week, together with the shire president, Anthony Middleton, I had the privilege to cut the ribbon at the grand reopening of the Pauline Mataka sports court in Newman. The redevelopment was jointly funded by the Shire of East Pilbara together with $1 million from the coalition government's Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, which was funding that we provided during COVID to our local councils. Talk about a very proud local member moment—watching the young athletes take to the courts after the official ceremony was such a delight. Young athletes, their families and the broader Newman community now have state-of-the-art netball courts, basketball courts and also tennis facilities. And, Madam Deputy Speaker, they deserve nothing less.

Growing up in a regional town, I understand that sporting facilities and other opportunities are not always on par with those that are available in the city. But the coalition will never accept such discrepancies as normal or acceptable, because we understand how vital sport is to our regional and our remote communities. I was so proud to witness a group of young female netballers train. They are currently training three times a week in the hope of representing Western Australia's state team. Newman is close to 1,200 kilometres away from Perth, so all their growing and all their training must be done on home soil. I think everyone would agree that these girls deserve a court that's not covered in cracks or uneven or unusable when it rains, and they now have something that is fit for purpose.

Last Tuesday was a moment of personal reflection for me as I watched these young athletes in Newman take to the court. Our regional and remote communities are overflowing with athletic talent, and the sad reality is that the dreams of many are never realised due to the disadvantage of growing up so far away from the city. This kind of inequity must become a thing of the past. I will never stop fighting for rural and regional Western Australians to make sure that they receive the same opportunities and access to quality facilities like those that we've recently supported in the beautiful town of Newman.