Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women, Senator Cash. Can the minister update the Senate on the government's involvement with the Netball World Cup competition, which commenced in Sydney on Friday?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator McKenzie for the question. On behalf of, I think, everybody in the chamber I congratulate the Australian Diamonds on their outstanding 10-goal win against England last night and wish them the very best for their future games in the World Cup. Last Friday I was honoured to join the Prime Minister and Minister Payne in Sydney for the opening ceremony of the 14th Netball World Cup. The Netball World Cup is held every four years and it is the premier event on the netball calendar. Sydney is this year playing host to the 16 nations playing in the tournament, which will conclude on Sunday. This is the second time this pinnacle event has been held in Sydney and the third time it has been held in Australia. It was held in Sydney in 1991 and, for the Western Australians here, we were privileged to hold the event in Perth in 1967.

The Australian Diamonds are the defending champions, having defeated the New Zealand Silver Ferns in 2011. This year's competition is truly global in nature with qualifying teams from Barbados, England, Fiji, Jamaica, Malawi, South Africa, Samoa, Scotland, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda—who appear for just the second time—Wales and Zambia. The opening ceremony on Friday night was a truly spectacular event and a celebration of all things netball. It was capped off with an outstanding win by the Australian Diamonds against Trinidad and Tobago. Our Australian Diamonds are exceptional examples of elite sportswomen in Australia. They show us what can be achieved through hard work and determination, and they certainly give girls the confidence to be successful in any arena they choose. (Time expired)

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question—and I am sure the minister also supports the parliamentary netball team, which will be playing the New Zealand pollies on Friday, though not at quite the same standard! Can the minister inform the Senate how the Netball World Cup is promoting women in sport?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think everybody here can agree that in no sport does Australia dominate like we do in netball— and in no competition do our Australian Diamonds shine like they do in the Netball World Cup. Since 1963 we have won the Netball World Cup 10 out of 13 times. That is over 75 per cent of World Cup titles. That figure would be astonishing in any other sport, but for our Australian Diamonds and our netballers it is just business as usual. We all know about netball's profile in Australia. It has the highest female participation rate of any sport in Australia with 350,000 registered players and an estimated one million players nationwide. It is without doubt a truly grassroots movement, with approximately 80 per cent of games being played at local or state clubs. I hope that in hosting this World Cup we are helping women's sport— (Time expired)

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Will the minister inform the Senate how the government has supported the Netball World Cup and women in sport more broadly?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Abbott government recognises the importance of netball to women's sport in Australia. I am pleased to say that we have invested $3 million to assist Netball Australia in delivering a world-class Netball World Cup. We have also invested $3 million towards one of the two host venues, Netball Central, ensuring another legacy from this great event, and we have provided more than $2 million this year to support high-performance in netball through the Australian Institute of Sport. I am delighted to say that the government also provided additional funding of $300,000 to support the participation of qualified teams from Zambia, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Malawi and Samoa. During the Netball World Cup we will also be continuing to encourage kids to get involved in our new $100 million Sporting Schools program which aims to boost participation in sport.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.