Page 3805 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 24 August 2010
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This has several implications. Firstly, an increase in demand would lead to an increase in the cost of participation. It is worth pausing on that for a moment. Anyone who has children who play sport would know that the costs can be very significant. They can be very significant if your child plays more than one sport. There are not just the registration fees; there is the gear that goes with it every year. If they are successful at sport and they travel, the costs grow exponentially.
For many in our community it is a real challenge to meet the costs that go with sport. I think that is something we should keep in mind as policy makers. Sport is a great leveller, and we want to keep it that way. We want to make sure that a kid from any background can get in there and have a go in their local sporting competition.
There is a role for clubs. I know that many clubs work with families, including low income and vulnerable families, in this regard. But there is also potentially a role for government down the track to make sure that it facilitates making sure that people can access sport.
We know that with the drought and with water restrictions, there has been more pressure placed on our sporting facilities. Since 2002, 41 fields have been taken offline due to stage 3 water restrictions and have not yet been fully brought back online. 2002 is also the last year the government conducted any review of its tri-annual funding program. Industry groups have also expressed concern to the Canberra Liberals that there is a lack of indoor facilities for junior sports. Indeed, that is the case for many sports.
The issue of declining volunteerism is one that has been raised by ACTSport. They cited it in their 2010-11 budget submission, where they said:
Involvement by volunteers in community sport and active recreation builds families as well as a vibrant community … Parents provide positive role models for children for engaging in an active community. Organised recreational sport is the biggest contributor to the voluntary sector in the ACT, with 23.6 per cent of all volunteers involved in sport. As importantly, the parents who are involved in their children’s involvement through general volunteering send a powerful message about the importance they place on sharing and valuing the efforts and interests of their children and their community.
They said earlier in their submission:
Increasing participation requires strong local organisations, which in turn are built on the hard work of volunteers, whether they are carers, instructors, coaches, officials, administrators, or many other smaller roles that are integral to the fabric of the industry.
For those of us who head out to the ovals on cold Saturday mornings—in my case down at Mawson, where it always seems about 10 degrees cooler than anywhere else in Canberra in winter—
Members interjecting—
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