Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I want to talk about the power of community sport. Sport is a lot more than medals at the Commonwealth Games or the Olympics or the World Championships. It is a lot more than the footy on Friday night or professional athletes. It is about connection and support and a place to belong. I think that is very aptly demonstrated by the experience of Shevonne from Mount Eliza. I recently saw Shevonne playing netball on a Saturday morning at Frankston & District Netball Association's pink day, which was raising funds for the Breast Cancer Network Australia. She was playing in mums versus kids event, and Miranda, the general manager of the Frankston & District Netball Association, said, 'You should hear Shevonne's story, it's pretty great.'

Shevonne and her husband emigrated to Australia from the UK a few years ago. Newly arrived, unfamiliar environment, three kids, including twins, and a husband working in the city, Shevonne found herself suffering from post-natal depression. It was pretty tough. She was lonely and isolated. She had no friends, no family and three young kids. Shevonne was looking for some sort of connection, and she came across the Frankston & District Netball Association. Out of the blue, she rang the office to ask, 'Is there somewhere I can play?' She wasn't a netballer. Luckily for her, her phone call was picked up by Raeleen Darcy, who's a legend. Raeleen supported her, encouraged her and said: 'There's a Facebook page. Post in there and see if anybody can pick you up for a team.' Shevonne didn't know anyone. How was she going to look after her kids? How was she going to be involved? FDNA have a program where they look after your children while you play netball so that mums can get involved.

Shevonne talks about Rae being an aunty figure because of the support she gave her. She speaks really fondly about the women from the other teams, the FDNA staff and the umpires who helped drive her passion for the game. Knowing that she hadn't really played much netball, the umpires helped to provide words of encouragement and supportive advice. I didn't know she'd never played netball before—or hadn't played it until recently—when I saw her play. She's really picked it up.

Her message is really simple: getting involved in community sport has changed her life. Getting involved in sport helped her physical and mental health. It helped her make friends. She now has four kids and is an active member of the FDNA family. Her daughter has joined the netball team and does some coaching of NetSetGo. Shevonne has her own team—apparently she's going to get into the finals this season—and has community and belonging. That's what sport can bring to people and communities, and I hope people get some encouragement from a story like Shevonne's.