Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I visited the St Albans Dinamo Football Club last weekend. This is a club with a long and storied history, having produced many A-League players and, indeed, Socceroos. The club is approaching its 50th anniversary, representing the achievements of one of the most prominent postwar migrant communities in my electorate.

One of the topics that came up during our conversation was the upcoming game between Croatia and Italy. Can I begin my contribution by offering my condolences on the result—a 98th-minute miracle for Italy. But the other topic of our conversation was one I wanted to raise today—not a commiseration but a congratulations. St Albans Dinamo is an incredibly successful club with over 30 teams. There are, in other words, hundreds of players, many of whom are juniors' teams and many of which are girls' and women's teams. The club is giving young people in the area a positive outlet, an opportunity to experience camaraderie, to learn teamwork and to celebrate their culture.

This success can be a double-edged sword. The large number of players is putting pressure on their access to pitches. Their pitches are currently full and, indeed, often overused. It is putting a strain on changerooms, particularly for women and girls—a phenomenon experienced by so many football clubs in my electorate—and has created a need for refurbishment of their facilities.

I want to congratulate the club on all that it has done over recent years to boost its membership, particularly of women and young people. And I commit myself to working with them as they build on their achievements to give access to sport and a sense of community to ever-greater numbers of young people.