Page 4916 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 25 October 2011
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sporting facilities. Upgraded courts, new aquatic facilities, lighting and amenities, and ovals with more sustainable water use are all part of our massive investment.
As well as these investments into sporting infrastructure, the government has a strong record in working to enable more Canberrans to participate in sporting activities. Under the new inclusive participation funding program, the ACT government provides sporting groups with funding to open their sport to a more diverse base. This program has been particularly successful in engaging different cultural and ethnic groups, people with disabilities and people from different age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds. Therefore, all these people are now able and more able to participate in sport. And I know those that have had the opportunity to witness games that have been played, particularly by refugee groups from time to time, will appreciate the fact that this program has been so successful.
Successful participants in the 2011 program included ACT Dragons volleyball club, Capital Football, Swimming ACT, Capital Lakes rowing club, National Heart Foundation, NAVMAT dragon boat racing club, Pedal Power ACT, Pegasus Riding for the Disabled, Special Olympics Australia ACT branch and Vision Impaired Sport ACT. I congratulate all these groups on taking part in this program.
The minister and Mr Rattenbury have already mentioned the massive community commitment and participation that takes place in the ACT through volunteer effort. So I will not go on about that any more but just congratulate all those volunteers that commit so many hours to this effort.
The ACT government continues to deliver great outcomes for sport in the ACT. Some highlights of the 2010-11 financial year include working collaboratively with the ACT sport and recreation industry to develop the active 2020 strategic plan, which I mentioned before; distributing more than $2.2 million in grants for projects such as the construction of the racecourse infrastructure on Lake Burley Griffin for the Canberra Dragon Boat Association; installation of bowling green floodlighting at Yowani Country Club; a program of activities to assist Pegasus Riding for the Disabled; providing $450,000 to Canberra’s elite sporting teams through the national league team funding program, including the Canberra Calvary in the new Australian basketball league; encouraging active play and appropriate eating for children aged nought to five years, in partnership with ACT Health and the Heart Foundation; delivering on a number of programs in conjunction with the Australian Sports Commission, primarily in coaching and officiating in disability sport and member protection; and delivering professional development seminars for local sporting organisations in association with the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
We all know how hard it is sometimes to run an organisation such as a community sporting club, and those people that work on the boards and the committees of these sporting clubs need to be commended and thanked for the hard work that they do in supporting these clubs. I am very pleased to know that they are getting the professional development that can be afforded them through the government’s efforts and through the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
The track record of the ACT government on community sport speaks for itself. We have built better facilities. We have upgraded our existing ones and funded programs
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