Page 2714 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 15 August 2017
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91 per cent of customers are satisfied with the management of our sportsgrounds. Sportsgrounds in the ACT are fully maintained and operated by the government, at an 86 per cent subsidy rate to assist the affordability of sporting participation for families. Sportsground rangers are on site for each booking to open gates and turn on lights, to assist seamless access for training and games. On-call services for the community are also available to support volunteers in facility-related management issues.
From 1 July there was a functional realignment within the sport and recreation business unit, with areas responsible for sportsgrounds moved to Transport Canberra and City Services and aquatics moved to the ACT Property Group, respectively. I am advised by the sporting community that the transition has been completely seamless and that there has been no real change in how the community communicates with the government in ensuring that they can make bookings for fields and the maintenance of sporting facilities.
The government will progress the reform of combat sport regulation. We have committed $624,000 over the next four years. This will be a landmark year ahead for combat sports, with a reform agenda in play for combat sport as well. The community’s expectations are that we make sure that the integrity of combat sports and the safety of spectators as well as participants remain paramount. The ACT government will continue to make sure that there is greater integrity and safety in the participation in combat sports in the ACT.
This year brings unprecedented support for women’s sport in the ACT through our commitments in the ACT budget. The Canberra Capitals have a strong history of success in the Women’s National Basketball League, having been grand finalists nine times in the past 16 seasons. The operational costs and expenses associated with attracting a high calibre of players to breed successful programs relies on government as well as commercial support in matching attendance and a strong membership base. Similarly, Canberra United boasts a solid performance history in the W-League, the top division women’s football league in Australia, with two championship titles and seven semifinal berths in the last eight seasons.
The ACT government has committed $250,000 per year for four years for the Canberra Capitals and $125,000 per year for four years for Canberra United, recognising the importance of these two great elite women’s teams to our ACT community and ensuring that highly regarded female sports programs continue to attract some of Australia’s finest basketball and football talent.
This is part of the ACT government’s firm commitment to support greater gender equality in sport and recreation. It sits alongside redirected funding to support the promotion, development and participation of women and girls, the creation of an online portal for HerCanberra to inspire and assist access to opportunities and infrastructure investments to attract women and girls to sport.
The government is committed to supporting new participation in motorsports through safe driving environments and driver training. Training and development initiatives in all sports, including motorsports, are currently eligible for support through the SRGP. However, the number of motorsport applications in recent years has been limited. The
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