Page 2663 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 10 August 2016

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I have moved this motion today, the last private members’ business day of this parliament, on the appalling state of sports facilities in the territory because I believe it is an important and ongoing issue for all of us and for the community that we represent. Sport looms large in the Canberra psyche and for many years the government has proudly talked up the number of people involved in sport. But in recent times the reality has become somewhat different.

In June this year the ACT Chief Health Officer published his annual report and it shows that Canberra appears to be losing the battle of the bulge, with one in four adults now obese. And the problem seems to be escalating. Rates of obesity have ballooned over the past two decades with the number of overweight and obese adults skyrocketing from 40 per cent in 1995 to 63 per cent in 2014. The report goes on to say that although obesity and overweight rates for children have remained relatively stable in recent years, eight out of 10 primary school and 88 per cent of high school students are not doing enough exercise. Sport is something that people talk to me about a lot and the cost, standard and accessibility of sport facilities have been brought to my attention on many occasions.

As I referred to yesterday in my remarks in the Sport and Recreation appropriations debate, over the past four years we have seen increase after substantial increase in the cost of hiring sporting facilities. These costs have become a burden on many local clubs in Canberra and, strangely—or perhaps not so strangely when you know how this government tweaks the figures and squeezes the rate-paying consumer—despite the ever higher costs and the unchanged or deteriorating state of some facilities, the total budget for Sport and Recreation has declined.

Recently, in the estimates debate, I asked the minister for sport why the sports budget has been declining in recent years. Her response—which I will quote here in full—is somewhat concerning given that she represents the government in this area. Ms Berry said:

Thank you for that question. I asked the same question when we were looking at these papers leading up to this. This is about some of the initiatives that Sport and Recreation funded previously ceasing. I might get Mr Dawes to explain a bit more to the committee about what happened there.

Mr Dawes said:

This may fall into a couple of other categories that we have discussed earlier as well with some of the programs that are ceasing. I am more than happy to take that on notice and provide you with a breakdown of where that movement is. It is just that a number of programs are coming to completion and are not funded.

I asked why the sports budget had been declining. Yes, obviously if programs are no longer being funded that would reduce the budget but I am not sure whether Ms Berry then went on to inquire of her directorate why the programs that were in place were no longer funded or why the money was not allocated to other sports. Maybe the directive for sport, just as it is for every other area, is to help pay for capital metro, the tram, the people and the propaganda that go with it.

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