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

I, and also on behalf of Senators Cash, Wong, Fierravanti-Wells and Hanson-Young, move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) netball is the largest female community-based sport in the world, with more than 70 nations competing and more than 21 million participants,

(ii) netball is ranked as the leading women’s participation team sport in Australia for 15-24 year olds, boasting more than 350 000 registered members with an estimated 1.2 million people nationwide who are involved in the game as players, umpires, coaches and administrators,

(iii) the important role netball plays in empowering young women and girls through competitive sport and teamwork,

(iv) the Netball World Cup is being held in Sydney, from 7 August hto 16 August 2015, with 16 nations playing a total of 64 matches over 10 days,

(v) Australia has a strong record of success in World Cup matches, winning the sport’s first gold medal in 1963 as well as a total of 109 of its 116 World Cup matches, and securing a record 10 World Cups, and

(vi) the Australian Government invested $300 000 to support the participation of qualified teams from Zambia, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Malawi and Samoa at the 2015 Netball World Cup, removing the financial barriers for these nations to ensure they can compete in Sydney; and

(b) wishes:

(i) the Australian Diamonds, led by captain Ms Laura Geitz and coach Ms Lisa Alexander, great success as they chase a record 11th World Cup in Sydney, and

(ii) a successful and enjoyable World Cup for Australia and the 15 other competing nations.

Question agreed to.