Page 2800 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 29 June 2011
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her remarks, comprise nearly 30,000 Canberrans who volunteer their time to participate in sport and recreation activities and allow sport and recreation activities to occur across Canberra each and every week.
In commenting on this motion I would like to pay tribute to the sport and recreation industry who have worked very closely with the ACT government to develop the active 2020 strategy. It is a jointly developed strategy, and one that we will continue to jointly deliver. It is a strategy that the whole of ACT government is committed to delivering.
In the first part of her motion Ms Porter calls on the government to continue to encourage sporting organisations to support those with disability, youth, Indigenous Canberrans, women, ageing Canberrans and those from diverse cultural groups. I think that is an important part of this motion, and an important part of the debate we need to have around increasing levels of participation.
I am very pleased to see that in 2010 a blind sports carnival was organised by Vision Impaired Sport ACT promoting sports for blind people and explaining to school children what it means to live with a disability. Last year, too, the Belconnen Bowling Club organised a come and try lawn bowls day to promote lawn bowls as a sport that people with disabilities can participate in, and these were in part funded through the Community Services Directorate under the 2010-11 Disability ACT grants.
I do note that this year’s budget will provide $14 million or thereabouts for the disability sector, and this includes an increase in base funding for Disability ACT to keep up with demand and respond to need. This $14 million will in part support future Disability ACT grant rounds that will again support activities such as sports carnivals for kids with disabilities, and other activities such as the one I have mentioned with the Belconnen Bowling Club.
The budget will, if passed by this place later this week, fund programs that can promote women’s sport—for example, funding for teams like the Canberra Capitals. The budget will provide $235,000 over three years to continue to support the active kids challenge, formerly known as the minister’s physical activity challenge, started by me to revitalise physical activity in ACT primary schools.
This program is designed to encourage all primary school age kids—Indigenous kids, kids with a disability, those from different cultural backgrounds—in government and non-government schools to get involved in physical activity and reap the benefits. So I can assure Ms Porter, and indeed all members in this place, that the government is committed to delivering on strategic initiative 1.5 from the active 2020 strategic plan.
In her motion Ms Porter calls upon the government to continue to engage with schools and sporting clubs in relation to sharing skills and facilities. The budget provides a total of $150.71 million in funding, including in the forward years for capital works at ACT public schools.
It is worth noting that a significant amount of this will be invested in programs to improve playing and sport spaces, to upgrade gyms and sporting equipment. It will
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