Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the Concussions and repeated head trauma in contact sports report from the Community Affairs References Committee. I thank the committee for its work—in particular the chair, Senator Rice. I echo her comments in relation to the call for action in relation to those recommendations.

Sport is an integral part of Australian life and it has been for quite some time. For decades, Australians have rallied around our favourite teams, our players and our athletes, be it in football, soccer, netball, basketball, tennis, swimming, gymnastics—and the list goes on. We do this at all levels. Every Saturday I take my girls down to basketball and cheer them on. We have eagerly followed the FIFA Women's World Cup and the mighty Matildas, and I take every opportunity I can to attend an AFL match.

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, 13 million Australian adults and three million children take part in sport each year. Additionally, 3.1 million Australians volunteer in some capacity. Playing sport has a number of social, physical and mental benefits. It is also great exercise and gives you a sense of community. For many, it is a significant part of our lives.

However, there are also a number of risks associated with playing sport, and there are a couple of issues that I want to highlight. Racism in sport is still a huge issue. So is accessibility, both for disabled people and in terms of the costs associated with playing sport. We're in a cost-of-living crisis, and, for many families, participating in community sport can be one of the first items of discretionary spending to be cut to save some money. Injury is another risk. Whether it's a calf injury such as you saw during the FIFA Women's World Cup, a broken collarbone from a tackle gone wrong, a rolled ankle or a concussion—the injury which has been the subject of this inquiry—injuries are very common and often seen as part of sport.

However, we've only just come to terms with the impact of concussions and how people who have suffered from them are treated in their recovery. There have been increased reports of the links of concussion and repeated head trauma to short- and long-term impacts on athletes' health. This includes a link to the neurodegenerative disease CTE, a condition that can only be diagnosed after someone has passed away. Other impacts include athletes suffering from anxiety, depression, psychosis, hallucinations, dizziness and brain fog.

This report details various definitions of concussions that exist, the lack of specific diagnostic tests and how concussions are underreported. The inquiry heard from families who watched their loved ones decline after repeated head injuries. There have been claims made—and, indeed, class actions have been undertaken both in Australia and internationally—that sporting codes have failed to recognise the seriousness of head injuries, despite the wealth of evidence and reporting about the risks, particularly about the long-term impacts. Various jurisdictions have put in place bans aimed at reducing hard tackles or using one's head in a game, such as during soccer.

We see far too often, at every level of competition, players suffering a knock to the head, leaving the field just for a couple of minutes and being eager to get back on, placing their health and wellbeing at risk to continue to play the game they love. Sometimes, they get straight back up and continue playing without even taking a break. For a very long time, we didn't know what the impacts were, but now we are seeing them. Unfortunately, it is too late for some. But there is still time to protect players at every level from the consequences of concussions and head trauma. We are seeing progress, but it's not coordinated, nor is it progressing fast enough. We absolutely can't let our love of sport place people at long-term risk of repeated head trauma. We need to make sure that we can protect our kids, and we need to protect, in particular, our athletes.