Page 4184 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 24 October 2018

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(e) the ACT has secured games in the 2020 International Cricket Council World Women’s Twenty20 World Cup; and

(3) calls on the Government to continue to promote both community and professional women’s sport by:

(a) ensuring equity in access to sporting facilities and opportunities for all ages to participate;

(b) working with community and professional sporting organisations to promote programs that deliver women’s sport; and

I stand here today excited by the fact that there has been an extraordinary growth in women’s sport not only in the ACT but across Australia. The ACT has had the proud and ongoing tradition of supporting the success of women’s sport. We have had the success of Canberra United, the Canberra Capitals, women’s national league teams such as netball, cricket and, one of my favourite sports, ice hockey.

It is a proud moment that I get to stand in this place to talk about some of the achievements we have had in promoting women’s sport in the ACT. I just mentioned women’s ice hockey. It was a very proud moment for me as a young teenager to be able to go from figure skating to playing ice hockey in not only the women’s team but also the men’s team. In those days there were not a lot of us women playing ice hockey and I am so glad to see, having watched the Canberra Pirates play a number of times now, that the sport is not only growing but being supported by the ACT government. I wish the Canberra Pirates well in their upcoming games and all the best for next season. I know they have had a tremendous season this year, and next year I hope will be even better.

This is also a really good opportunity to remember the encouragement we all need for promoting and ensuring that women and girls continue to play and be involved in sport. As I just mentioned, I played ice hockey as a young teenager, but I also played a lot of non-traditional women’s sports. I played football. I played Rugby Union. I rode horses. I played field hockey. I was always lucky enough to be encouraged not only by my family and my peers but by all the people I played with. Some girls are not as encouraged, and it is a timely reminder today with this motion to continue to support all girls in whatever form of sport they undertake.

I will reflect for a moment on a wonderful young woman I have had the pleasure of getting to know since being elected to this place. Kiara is a very enthusiastic motorsport woman. She did dance and calisthenics for many years and then went to her mother and said, “I’d like to drive go-karts.” What an incredible story. She is going gangbusters out at the Canberra karting Mark Webber circuit. I heard recently she had several podium finishes and is getting PBs racing around that track.

It is wonderful to see that there are many other women that Kiara races with, but still there is a stigma attached to supporting women and girls in non-traditional sports. I know Molly Taylor spends a lot of time supporting women and girls to get into rallying, and there are other women in motorsport who want to encourage young

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