Page 2665 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 10 August 2016
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Our community deserve better than what this government has been delivering to them at ever-increasingly higher costs. During estimates Mr Hinder raised the issue of the sports booking system and I think very unfairly cast aspersions on clubs whom he suggested made multiple bookings and then did not always proceed with the bookings and in doing so prevented others using that oval.
Some years ago I met with Sport and Recreation officials about the booking system because the larger football clubs and the smaller ones had expressed their enormous frustration at the time and difficulty they had in trying to book grounds for clubs with a multiple number of teams. From reading the Hansard transcript you are left with the impression that it is all the fault of the clubs for being selfish and not acting ethically.
I was somewhat surprised at Mr Hinder’s comments as he tells me that he is involved in junior sport. If he is, he is not listening to the problems his clubs face. I think his comments are a slur on the clubs. The booking system is ineffective and clunky and it ought to have been addressed years ago. This government rabbits on about its ICT capability and talks up just how efficient the new Access Canberra portal is when it is not that at all. And so it is with the booking system.
It is well past time for Sport and Recreation officers to sit down and consult deeply with their clients, the users of the booking service, to better understand the difficulties that our local clubs face. I know consultation is not something that this government have much form on or, I guess, interest in but it is time that they learnt.
We have a population of kids who, by the Chief Health Officer’s own records, are getting less fit and less healthy. One of the reasons is the cost of playing sport. That needs to be fixed.
But how do the smaller clubs communicate with government? Even if government were to listen, our local sports clubs are run by volunteers who have day jobs and their time is limited. The sports booking system is just one of the areas that take up so much valuable time for these volunteers. Sitting down to write a submission or seek an appointment is out of reach for many clubs. I have spoken about this on a number of occasions but many of the smaller local clubs now have no avenues to voice their concerns. I can speak up about it but the government has sat back and allowed ACTSport to collapse or as a number of the board members of ACTSport have said, “This government has assisted or engineered the demise of ACTSport.” They are tough words, but that is coming through from a number of individuals who have been connected with ACTSport and from clubs who also feel the absence of an organisation like ACTSport.
A number of times I have asked about this issue but I am patronisingly told that while they appreciate this is a subject in which I have a great interest I have got it wrong; it is not the government’s fault. I am always told that ACTSport were looking at their business model, which was not working. I find it curious though that recently in estimates when I asked about ACTSport and the UC sports hub area I was told:
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