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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 7 Hansard (4 June) . . Page.. 1869 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

Ms Dundas criticised the government, at one stage, because this might be the only thing that is being done. That is not the case. Very recently, I opened the seminar for funding for next year. I emphasised, to a full room of sporting organisations, that this government is interested in the promotion of women's sport; it is interested in the promotion of sport for mass participation, and it is interested in sport and recreation for the ageing.

More recently, I opened a seminar specifically pitched towards sport and recreation for the ageing, under the title of Active Ageing.

At 5.00 pm, in accordance with standing order 34, the debate was interrupted. The motion for the adjournment of the Assembly having been put and negatived, the debate was resumed.

MR QUINLAN: It is quite clear that there is a higher drop-out rate in sport amongst women. I have been happy to see that some of the sports organisations around town are addressing that, and I want to encourage that. You will see far more female participation in cricket and soccer,.

Mr Hargreaves: And Aussie rules!

MR QUINLAN: As Mr Hargreaves points out, we are seeing far more participation of women in Australian rules-and young women.

It is important that we encourage sport, and that we encourage the attitudes within the clubs. A lot of those teams, which are the feeder groups to our elite teams, come from the same clubs that we are talking about. So it is about a cultural change.

Our two most recent national championships in the ACT are the Capitals and the Eclipse-both female teams. The Eclipse needed additional funding to get to the grand final. When we came to government, they were not even listed as one of our elite teams, although they were playing in the national competition. In fact, they won the thing-good luck to them!

I ask members to consider this in the spirit in which it is put forward. I have detected, from the other side of the house, what seems to be a spoiling approach on a couple of issues that have come through this place before. They have voted for stuff that they would not normally have voted for. Because they were against the government, they voted for those.

Mr Humphries: Such as?

Mrs Cross: Such as ?

MR QUINLAN: Let me think. Some of the green measures that you were talking about before.

MR SPEAKER: You do not have to answer that question-questions come tomorrow. Just continue.

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