Page 3812 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 24 August 2010
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MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (4.49): I thank Mr Seselja for bringing on this topic today. I think it is a very interesting one, and I have certainly enjoyed listening to the discussion so far. It has already been well touched on that physical activity is vitally important for young people, and increasing participation in physical activity has been identified as important for addressing most of the health problems identified in the national health priority areas. Sport and physical activity programs provide an effective vehicle through which personal and social development in young people can be positively affected, as well as having obvious physical benefits. This is particularly important for children and young people who are deemed to be at risk.
When it comes to participation, we know that factors such as gender, parents’ employment status, country of birth and the relative socioeconomic status of the neighbourhood are found to be strongly associated with children’s participation rates in sporting activities. And children who spend more time watching television and/or using computers are found to be less likely to participate in organised sporting activities.
Sport offers many benefits, including physical fitness and wellbeing, as I already touched on. But the impact on the mind is something which we need to promote in times of increasing mental health concerns for children, young people and adults alike in Australia.
In the ACT, many youth services are using sport as a means of engaging young people by providing access to equipment, playing fields, support and an opportunity for social development and the formation of positive relationships. Of particular note is the work done by Multicultural Youth Services; programs such as the Junior World Games were used as a way of engaging young people from a range of cultural groups and newly arrived migrants in the Canberra region.
The Australian Sports Commission’s campaign “play for life ... join a sporting club” has been launched right around the country, with enthusiastic support and endorsement not only from the sporting community, but also from schools, health professionals, child psychologists and counsellors, and the media. Recently, Australian Sports Commission CEO Matt Miller said
… the campaign is a whole of sport initiative, involving state, territory and Commonwealth agencies working together to deliver long-term benefits to families around Australia.
He went on to say:
This campaign, which aims to highlight the benefits of club sport and increase participation, is already achieving remarkable outcomes at a community level …
Mr Miller said:
… an estimated one million children—or 37 per cent of children aged between five and 14—do not participate in any organised sport. This is in a country where one quarter of children are overweight or obese.
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