Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, $560,412,000

Administered Items for the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, $7,928,000

Membership:

Mr Whetstone substituted for Mr Pisoni.

Mr Bell substituted for Mr Knoll.

Minister:

Hon. L.W.K. Bignell, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Recreation and Sport, Minister for Racing.

Departmental Advisers:

Mr P. Anderson, Executive Director, Office for Recreation and Sport.

Ms K. Taylor, Director, Sport and Recreation Development, Office for Recreation and Sport.

Mr T. Nicholas, Manager, Finance, Office for Recreation and Sport.

Mr B. Cagialis, Chief Finance Officer, Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure.

Ms S. Hameister, Racing Industry Support, Office for Recreation and Sport.

Mr W. Battams, Director, South Australian Sports Institute, Office for Recreation and Sport.

Mr I. Houridis, Director, Facility Development and Infrastructure, Office for Recreation and Sport.

The CHAIR: I declare the proposed payments open for examination and refer members to the Agency Statements in Volume 3. I will ask the minister if he would like to make an opening statement on this line as his advisers change over. This would be a perfect point to let everybody know that the National Calisthenic Championships will be held in Adelaide in 2016. We laugh but I can tell you that the same number of bed nights will be taken up by the calisthenics people of Australia as with any other convention. I have just come back from Queensland and there were over 800 people supporting their teams there, so we would be mad not to pay attention to it. The competition will be in the Festival Theatre and I expect to see a lot of you there. Thank you, minister.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: First, I would like to introduce the wonderful team who surround me. To my immediate left is Paul Anderson, Executive Director, Office for Recreation and Sport. Then, on his left is Tim Nicholas, Manager, Finance, Office for Recreation and Sport. On my right is Kylie Taylor, Director, Sport and Recreation Development. Behind me we have Sue Hameister, Racing Industry Support, and Bill Cagialis, Chief Finance Officer, DPTI.

The Office for Recreation and Sport is the lead agency for the state government's policy on sport and active recreation. The agency has three clear strategic priorities: build a capable and sustainable industry, deliver better places to participate and perform, achieve sporting excellence. The achievement of the strategic priorities would simply not be possible without a high level of community engagement. Within each of your electorates you would probably be aware of organisations which are seeking or have received funding or assistance from the Office for Recreation and Sport.

Just earlier this week, I was signing a whole heap of letters to 47 different members in this place with some money that is coming everyone's way, up to $40,000. In fact, the member for Chaffey and I have fallen a little bit below the $40,000, so what happens next time is that a little bit more activity goes into areas to make sure people are aware of it and stuff like that. Not everyone can get that funding but there is a pool of money there and it is pretty evenly distributed, so look forward to (as they say) the cheque in the mail.

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: Yes, exactly. The Office for Recreation and Sport regularly engages with and assists the 67 state sport and recreation peak bodies and organisations, seven industry representative bodies, 68 local councils, the national committees, the 47 members of parliament and electorate officers.

I must say they do a tremendous job. I rarely get any complaints from electorate offices. In fact, I do not think I have had one about the sort of service that the Office for Recreation and Sport provides to electorate offices and to the sporting communities within our electorates. I think that is a tremendous tick of approval for the hard work that goes on there and that very personalised service they provide to the sporting and recreational organisations within our communities. They will always do as much as they possibly can to help people and assist them in filling in grant applications, etc.

The Office for Recreation and Sport also has to deal with state government departments and, at the same time, the Office for Recreation and Sport administers nine separate grant programs ensuring that all processes are at best practice with good governance. In relation to grants alone, each year, on average, the Office for Recreation and Sport answers more than 4,500 telephone calls from community organisations, sends in excess of 6,000 emails and attends more than 100 individual meetings with clubs, associations, councils and MPs.

During the past 12 months, the office has assessed more than 1,720 grant applications requesting more than $35 million in equipment, programs, facility planning and development, and organisational development. In the same period, 1,500 grant agreements were managed. During 2014-15, across a range of grants programs, $16.38 million has been approved to 801 grantees. A breakdown of this allocation is:

Active Club Program—473 successful applicants, sharing in $2.35 million;

Sport and Recreation Sustainability Program—74 eligible organisations, sharing in almost $3 million;

Sport and Recreation Development and Inclusion Program—113 successful projects and 77 individual scholarships, totalling $3.19 million. Of these, 29 projects were identified to assist with the inclusion-based initiatives;

Community Recreation and Sport Facilities Program—46 successful projects, sharing in $6.95 million;

State Facility Fund—$500,000 was shared between three projects; and

VACSWIM Funding Program—13 organisations shared in $400,368.

The VACSWIM program, which was conducted for the first time in 2014-15, was particularly successful. This new model for the delivery of the iconic VACSWIM program allowed for better connections at a community level and saw the program delivered across 126 locations statewide.

An exciting new initiative for the government in 2014-15 is the sports vouchers program. This program provides $50 every year for every primary school student to reduce the cost of club fees and participation in sport. The budget available for the scheme is $7.7 million for four years, with $1.09 million in the first year rising to $2.25 million in the fourth year. Providers have been able to redeem vouchers for joining or for membership fees from 4 March 2015, and to date 21,454 vouchers have been redeemed for a total of $1.06 million.

Excitingly, the online portal for the sports vouchers, www.sportsvouchers.sa.gov.au, has won the South Australian award for the government services category in the 2015 iAwards which recognise the achievements and innovations made in ICT across all areas of the economy. The portal enables clubs to register and claim submissions, as well as helping the public search for participating clubs, and now moves forward to the national judging phase of the iAwards.

To support the implementation of a performance-based investment strategy, the Office for Recreation and Sport places a strong focus on customer and industry relationships to drive and support agreed outcomes. Each funded state sport, recreation or industry body is assigned a designated industry adviser to support the relationship between the government, the organisation and their affiliates. The industry adviser works with the paid staff, boards and volunteers of sport and recreational organisations to support business improvement initiatives and ensures that government understanding of sport and recreation is complete, up-to-date and minimises duplication.

In the past 12 months, the Office for Recreation and Sport provided 101 training and development opportunities to support the industry in the following areas:

coaching, volunteering and officiating;

child safe environments;

governance and board-related functions;

integrity;

inclusion; and

leadership.

A range of partnerships have been developed to deliver 104 participation programs for people traditionally underrepresented in sport and active recreation participation. This includes the following groups:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders;

women and girls;

people with disabilities; and

people from a cultural and linguistically diverse background.

In May 2015, more than 220 participants attended the Office for Recreation and Sport's conference 'From Diversity Comes Innovation and Growth' held at the Adelaide Convention Centre. A dynamic and diverse group of speakers challenged the sport and active recreation industry to think differently through the conference themes of:

a progressive sport and recreation sector is strong, vibrant and diverse;

diversity of people and product is good for business;

enabling change in sport and recreation;

commercialisation; and

innovate or suffocate.

In a concerted effort to fully understand the impact of rising utility costs on community sport and active recreation, the government, through the Office for Recreation and Sport, engaged KPMG to review the impact of rising utility costs. In response to KPMG's review, the Office for Recreation and Sport is working on strategies to help clubs and associations manage their utility use more efficiently. These include:

the establishment of an Office for Recreation and Sport-led utilities working group, established to work on a collaborative cross-government strategic approach. The group comprises representatives from the Office for Recreation and Sport; SA Water, Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources; Department of Education and Child Development; SA Health; and the Local Government Association;

investment in the STARCLUB Club Development Program to develop sustainable clubs which directs users to helpful resources, templates, websites and tips to help clubs and associations reduce their utility usage;

development of the resource Greening Your Club which provides information on environmental issues clubs and associations within South Australia now face and equips them with the tools and skills necessary to reduce their environmental impact and utility usage;

development of a series of case studies to educate clubs and associations to manage their utilities more efficiently;

development of a Recreation Grounds Rates and Taxes Exemption Act 1981 Fact Sheet identifying exemptions eligible organisations may be eligible for under the act. I think I wrote to everyone explaining this material was available, but if anyone needs it, we are happy to provide it because it is a good resource. What we see in sporting clubs is that new people come through in their volunteer capacities in roles of president, secretary or treasurer and that sometimes not all of these things are known to them, so it is a handy fact sheet when it could be of some assistance to the clubs.

the Office for Recreation and Sport is also playing a significant role in SA Water's current Irrigated Public Open Space—Code of Practice review as a member of the review steering committee.

Deliver Better Places to Participate and Perform: In the period 2014-15, the government, through the Office for Recreation and Sport, has continued its program to plan for and deliver recreation and sport infrastructure. The development of the $4 million State Diamond Sports Centre at Adelaide Shores, West Beach, has been progressed. This facility will support the sports of softball and baseball and provide a multi-diamond precinct with associated indoor training and administrative facilities.

The Parks Community Centre has been completed, delivering indoor pools, a gym, refurbished indoor courts and football pitches, and associated facilities for the local community. Facility developments totalling around $1 million have been undertaken at the State Netball Centre and the State Athletics Centre.

To maximise the community's access to a range of government-related infrastructure, work commenced on an initiative which examines Schools as Community Hubs. This work focuses on utilising school facilities, including ovals and indoor and outdoor courts. It aims to connect community groups to these facilities when they are available outside of programmed use by the school.

The Office for Recreation and Sport also facilitated the establishment of an industry-led Recreational Trails Advisory Group, bringing together key stakeholders from around the recreation community to inform and drive the sustainability of the State Trail Network.

Through this period, the Office for Recreation and Sport has assessed or assisted with more than 650 proposals and inquiries across the state relating to facility planning and development, development plan approvals, sport and recreation master plans, and partnerships between federal, state and local governments and state sport and recreation organisations for the provision of facilities across metropolitan and regional South Australia.

In the area of elite high-performance sport, the South Australian Sports Institute has excelled in the major sporting events of 2014-15. The performances of our athletes showcased the success of our pathways programs, talent identification programs, and coaching and athlete development. In 2014, 26 SASI athletes brought home a total of 35 medals in 24 world championship events. The tally included 12 gold, 14 silver and nine bronze—a tremendous effort by those athletes. Nine remarkable South Australian athletes, all cyclists, were crowned world champions in 2014: five senior world championships and four junior.

At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, SASI made an outstanding contribution to the Australian team and medals tally. South Australia and SASI were represented by 41 team members, or 10 per cent of the 417-strong Australian team. South Australian athletes contributed 20 per cent of Australia's gold medals and 19 per cent of Australia's total medal tally of 137. We had 22 Commonwealth Games medal winning athletes across seven sports, including athletics, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, shooting, swimming and cycling. Collectively, these athletes brought home 54 Commonwealth Games medals. This tally included 16 gold, 13 silver, and five bronze from 26 Commonwealth Games events. South Australian cyclists collectively won an impressive 17 medals.

The Office for Recreation and Sport provides the resources to engage with the racing industry and to be the first point of contact between the government and industry. Since corporatisation of the racing industry in 2000, the government has not sought to interfere in the day-to-day management of the racing industry. Government dealings with the racing industry since then have revolved around major policy issues of local and national significance. The government will continue to develop positive and constructive relationships with the state's peak racing industry bodies, as well as represent the interests of South Australia's racing industry at Australasian racing ministers conferences. The government will continue to recognise and promote the importance of the development of collaborative partnerships with other states and territories on significant issues which affect racing nationally.

Consultation and involvement of the Office for Recreation and Sport with industry in 2014-15 has included: support of racecourse developments; animal welfare issues; integrity of the racing industry; funding requests; promoting resources available within the Office for Recreation and Sport in matters such as governance and diversity; liaising with other government agencies which have interactions with the racing industry; advice to government on matters pertaining to the racing industry; monitoring developments in other jurisdictions which could have ramifications at a local level. The government has continued to acknowledge the importance of the South Australian racing industry and its economic and social contributions to South Australia.

The CHAIR: The member for Chaffey.

Mr WHETSTONE: Finished? Twenty minutes!

The CHAIR: Keep moving; that's another 10 seconds of our life.

Mr WHETSTONE: I refer to the community rec and sports facilities program in Budget Paper 4, Volume 3, page 76, under Financial Commentary. I note the $3 million reduction in the sport and recreation facilities development improvements program in 2015-16. What is the specific program that the budget is referring to, as there is no program for this official title within rec and sport? Is this the community recreation and sports facilities program?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: The identification of the fund is in all of our publications as a specific funding program, and applications can be accepted for the planning or building of facilities. Apart from the planning phase, matching funding is required for the rest of those funds.

Mr WHETSTONE: What is the current annual funding available in 2015-16 through the community recreation and sports facilities program? Did you take on board advice from your office of rec and sport which previously advised against the reduction in funding of the CRSF program?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: That figure is $2.5 million for those state-scale facilities which we can still go for in the general budget. That decision was taken before I took over this role as Minister for Recreation and Sport, so I was not part of the process of what advice was given at that time. With the remaining $1 million, we are seeing that that is being replaced with the dividend we are getting back from the money we receive from Adelaide Oval—so, not entirely that $4 million in the first year. It started as $200,000 in the first year, rising by $200,000 a year in the years after that to a maximum of $1 million. I point out that that $3.5 million reduction I am talking about still leaves $4.1 million remaining in the fund.

Mr WHETSTONE: Is it correct that the $1 million of reduction in spending on the Community Recreation and Sports Facilities Program is being redirected into the $50 voucher program?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: No, the $50 voucher is a new program with new money that came in after the election last year. We went to the election promising the $50 sports voucher scheme and it was very popular with people. After the election we committed money to that, so it is new money.

Mr WHETSTONE: Where are the rest of the savings from the reduction in the sports facilities program being distributed?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: When you say 'savings', there is still the money there available in the general budget whenever we need to go for something the size of the diamond pitch development down at West Beach, or the year before that we put in the extra hockey pitch out at the Pines. For any of those big scale developments, the money is still available in the general budget, but what Treasury was keen on at the time—and, as I said, it was before my time—was not to have that money sitting out there in a defined scheme but to make sure there was a submission that came to all of government to ensure that that was money well spent. I can assure you that if we have a good project to fund I will be in there fighting tooth and nail to get that money.

Mr WHETSTONE: What is the current status of the community sports hub report and is there any further action required on it?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: There is no further action required in terms of the development of the plan. It has been brought together and worked on by not only government but also local government, and it is really important to have them, and Sport SA is also represented. Everyone has got together and worked out what it should look like and then we will see what eventuates with the scheme in the future.

Mr WHETSTONE: When is the Deloitte Access Economics report on the economic and social value of sport in South Australia going to be released and what did it cost?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: The report cost $65,000. A lot of discussion and feedback was sought from government departments, local councils, etc. The first draft of the report has been prepared and we expect to have the final report later this year.

Mr WHETSTONE: Given that the last Office for Rec and Sport grants review was done in December 2011, will there be another review soon? When are we due to have another report?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: An internal review is done every year by the Office for Recreation and Sport. They are looking at implementing a review every three years, not a year-long review or anything like that, but a review that does take into consideration the views of people in the sporting and recreation community.

Mr WHETSTONE: If one is done every three years, there must be one due sometime soon?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: It is a new initiative, to bring this in. There has not been one done since 2011, but this is a new initiative. Rather than do a whole year-long thing like the one done in 2011, it will be done every three years from, I presume, sometime soon. I am informed that the Office for Recreation and Sport has just gone out to the sector with a 360° review of the department to ask for feedback from people, and grants are included in that review.

We are always listening to any sort of advice and feedback that we can get from everyone in the sector about how things can be done in a better way, and that includes MPs as well. If people think there is some way of maybe doing it better, please drop us a line and let us know.

Mr WHETSTONE: I certainly will. Minister, can you provide a bit more information regarding the one-off increase of $4 million to fund the sport and rec facilities development and improvement fund in 2014, and why was it only a one-off?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: That was a really good program and it delivered a lot of upgrades right around the state. It was $4 million set aside out of the budget so that we could fund a range of projects that had missed out. In terms of calls for expressions of interest and asking people to put in their grant applications, we can never fund all the proposals that were put up. This was an attempt to put some money aside for the sport and recreation sector to try to clear the decks to a certain degree.

I travel around to many places, for example, Bordertown and up through the Mid North, Snowtown, Crystal Brook, and places like that. I caught up with some people in Ceduna, and their netball courts had been resurfaced. A lot of projects missed out maybe once or twice before, sometimes maybe three times in rare examples, but they could get the funding that time around.

Mr WHETSTONE: That is a top-up fund, if you like. Do you foresee the creation of a top-up fund anytime soon?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: I would love to, but things are tight across the general budget. I think there was some money there that was available and we were lucky enough to get it for the rec and sport sector. I am always in there asking for more money for this very important portfolio area. We would take more money any day of the week. It is, of course, tight economic times, and we do not have as much money as we would like to have, and I think that is probably the case for most states and territories as well.

We have to do what we can with the resources that we have, but if there is ever a bit of money floating around, we will always try to get our hands on it, because we know the benefit that it brings to not just the people participating in the sport but to the communities, particularly in country areas. I do not have to tell the three of you anything; you all represent great country regions. Football, netball, tennis, cricket and all those other sports that are played in your area bring together so many different parts of the community where everyone can get together. It is a really important part of the week, the month and I guess the season of so many people.

Mr GEE: I refer to Program 3: Recreation, Sport and Racing, Budget Paper 4, Volume 3, pages 76 to 78. In March 2014, the Premier announced an election commitment for a sport voucher program. Could the minister update us on the progress of this initiative?

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

Mr GEE: I was interested in the—

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

Mr GEE: I would like to hear a bit more about it.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: Thank you very much.

Mr GEE: A lot of members in my electorate are benefiting from that program.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: It is a terrific scheme, and I thank the member for his question. The program provides a voucher of $50 every year for every primary school-aged student to reduce the cost of club fees and participation in sport. The initiative aims to address cost as a barrier to participation and ensures young people have access to community sport. The budget available for the scheme is $7.7 million for four years, with $1.09 million in the first year, rising to $2.25 million in the fourth year.

On 30 November 2014, our provider preregistration website was launched, and in early December 2014 I wrote to state sporting organisations, clubs and providers to encourage them to register online through the sports vouchers website. I advise that 2,185 registrations of interest have been made, with 1,389 eligible providers emailed and provided with a username and password, and 1,095 clubs are now accepting vouchers at 1,342 venues—in excess of 50 sports.

There are no surprises regarding which sports have been most popular with children. To date, the greatest number of sports vouchers take-up has been with children playing Aussie rules football (9,530), netball (5,412), soccer (2,374), gymnastics (1,464), followed by basketball and hockey. We will see a seasonal differential in the way the applications come in, because obviously you have different seasons. When they were first launched, the cricket and tennis season was practically over, so we will probably see an influx of applications later in the year.

Of course, each child's sports voucher is valid for a one-off use until 31 December. The Office for Recreation and Sport is committed to working with all sports to ensure the number of children redeeming vouchers for sports reach anticipated targets. Later this year, we can look forward to an increase in voucher numbers redeemed against summer sports, such as cricket, little athletics and surf life saving. Vouchers have been redeemed for sports as diverse as judo, lacrosse, BMX, table tennis, Taekwondo and archery. It is great to see so many forms of competitive sport being played by the children of this state.

Sport and recreation agencies in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory already administer a sports voucher program where a unique voucher is provided to every eligible child and comes at a considerable cost. By having a different model for delivery of the program, this saves South Australia an estimated $228,000 per year, and it is terrific to have that money going into the sport rather than into the red tape. The online portal for sports vouchers has, as I mentioned in the opening statement, won the South Australian award for the government services category in the 2015 iAwards. We hope it goes even further and takes out the national title.

Providers have been able to redeem vouchers for joining or membership fees from 4 March this year, and 21,454 vouchers have now been redeemed for a total of $1.061 million. South Australia's model provides the most cost-efficient and streamlined process in Australia, and outperforms all the other states in terms of cost and volume processed. The projection for the 2015 calendar year is approximately $2 million based on the estimated demand.

Mr WHETSTONE: Minister, back to grants. The number of managed grant agreements has reduced from 1,702 in 2013-14 to a projected target of 1,300 in 2015-16. Why is that the case?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: It is largely to do with the special purpose grants—that $4 million that we had in place which we were talking about before. There were so many projects there that were being undertaken around the state. Also, some of the other reduction is related to that $1 million reduction that was brought into place before I took over the role.

Mr WHETSTONE: The $200,000—I guess that is the sinking fund for community sport from the Adelaide Oval redevelopment. Has that been included in the current budget?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: It has not gone in yet; it is paid in arears. This is the first financial year of the scheme, and the first $200,000 instalment will be provided in July 2016. A year after that, it will be $400,000 and then $600,000 after that, up to $1 million indexed.

Mr WHETSTONE: So no money will actually be able to be used this year, it will be next year?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: Yes, that is correct.

Mr WHETSTONE: While we are on Adelaide Oval, can you give us an update of the full redevelopment of the Adelaide Oval? I believe that there is still some money remaining to be spent there on weatherproofing of stands and the like.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: We do not have anything to do with that. That is all under the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure's portfolio area. Basically, they build it and we fill it, so all those questions need to be directed to minister Mullighan in his capacity as infrastructure minister. I think it has been a terrific project, and one that has been with the infrastructure minister since Pat Conlon's days, and rightly so. I am not sure, down the track once everything is completed, whether it will move over to the Minister for Sport's portfolio areas.

Certainly, I have a lot to do with John Olsen, John Bannon, Andrew Daniels and the rest of the team down at Adelaide Oval, but we talk more about what sort of events are coming up and things like that. We do not get into discussions about who owes what for what part of the development. But it is an exciting development, and those Liverpool guys, who have been to a lot of grounds around the world, loved it. I cannot help you more with an answer on that.

Mr WHETSTONE: That is okay. Liverpool still did not manage to pip AFL, though.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: No, exactly, but they loved it.

Mr WHETSTONE: I just want to touch on scholarships—Budget Paper 4, Volume 3. The number of athletic scholarships and services provided has dropped from 300 in 2013-14 to 224 in 2014-15, and is only targeted at 230 in 2015-16. Why is the state government handing out fewer scholarships at a time when we are looking for athletes to excel at high-level games such as the Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games and world champs?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: The short answer is that we have targeted our scholarships to athletes who are true medal prospects, so I guess it is going after the very best and ensuring that they have some added resources to help them on their road to the world championships, Commonwealth Games or Olympic Games.

Mr WHETSTONE: Never enough money for high-performance athletes.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: It is a balancing act, too, because you want to look after the grassroots. It does not matter what portfolio you have or what part of it, we could always do with more money. It is something that all states and territories grapple with. We would all like to have more money in our budgets.

Mr WHETSTONE: Has the budget for providing athletic scholarships been reduced, or was there money saved through providing fewer scholarships than targeted?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: There was a reduction but there is still money there for talent identification, which is really important. There are plenty of potential gold medallists out there who do not know they have the attributes required and, if they combine that with a lot of hard work, they can go all the way to the world stage in, I guess, the sporting pursuit chosen for them by those who go out and do the identification.

We also have money for people in regional South Australia, because we obviously know that distance can be a big factor and something that makes it a bit more difficult for people in our regions. We have a million square kilometres and we try to look after anyone who has to drive three hours or five hours to get to events, or things like that, as well.

Mr WHETSTONE: The sports training programs: can you explain why the number of training and development services provided to the active recreation and sports industry has decreased and is projected to decrease even further in the 2015-16-year? Have any of those programs been looking for discontinuation?

Ms TAYLOR: I am going to answer this question. It is a combination of factors. Probably the primary one is the rising technology, that people can now access courses online that are delivered anywhere throughout the world. In the past, we needed to deliver face-to-face. Now people are accessing their courses that are delivered interstate or even overseas. That has resulted in us needing to deliver less face-to-face. There are also third-party providers out there who are potentially picking up courses that we used to offer. There is no point duplicating something if it is available in the community so we try to focus on the courses that are not available elsewhere.

Mr WHETSTONE: So, these courses are now predominantly online?

Ms TAYLOR: No, we offer a combination of online and face-to-face. Traditionally, our suite of courses relates to accreditation of coaches and officials and also the update of coaching accreditation and courses, but some of that can be delivered online.

Mr WHETSTONE: What about the cut of funding to the Recreation and Sport Youth Traineeship Incentive Program? I might just add that they have cut all the funding to that program.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: The Recreation and Sport Youth Traineeship Incentive Program was discontinued by the Office for Recreation and Sport in 2014-15. This was due to a pattern of decreasing applicants for the incentive allocations and because a large number of the organisations funded by the program had capacity to fund the positions themselves.

Between 2011 and 2014, 72.7 per cent of total incentives allocated were to organisations which have a turnover in excess of $1 million, and one-third of these with more than $5 million of turnover or they were commercial enterprises. Sport SA received approximately $60,000 annually from the commonwealth government for the delivery of training to these trainees and the Office for Recreation and Sport has only ever provided financial support to the employers of the trainees.

The Office for Recreation and Sport does not directly subsidise the training offered by Sport SA as a registered training organisation or any of the other state sport or recreation bodies who are registered training organisations in South Australia. It is not the Office for Recreation and Sport's role to give any one organisation operating a commercial business arm an advantage over its competitors. The government is aware Sport SA delivers a range of qualifications in the areas of sport and recreation. They undertake this as a commercial enterprise, not as part of their function of providing advocacy and services to their members.

Mr WHETSTONE: Thank you, minister. This will interest Mr Battams, I am sure. With respect to the SASI athletes and high-performance programs a target for the SASI athletes is to win medals at international benchmark events in four sports. How much funding is provided directly to the SASI program and can you, minister, provide a breakdown of that funding allocated to coaches, athletes and administration?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: Member for Chaffey, did you want the breakdown of what each coach is paid, because we just have a general overview, which is that $4 million of the budget goes to SASI. Do you need more information than that?

Mr WHETSTONE: I was curious as to what part of that $4 million is allocated to coaches, to athletes and to administration.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: A general answer is that SASI has an incredibly small admin sector, so all that sort of back office stuff and admin is largely provided by the Office for Recreation and Sport. All the money that gets spent on people goes into coaches, sport scientists and specialists, because it is their role to get the athletes up and ready and performing. We could come back to you with some breakdowns on it if you wanted, but rest assured that the money is being spent largely for the direct benefit of the athletes through good coaches and the like.

Mr WHETSTONE: To cut to the chase I was looking at what money hits the ground and what money is stuck in offices?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: I think having everyone collocated in the one place is terrific, too, because we do have people down there who can answer the phones and things like that in the Office for Recreation and Sport and handle things for SASI at the same time.

Mr WHETSTONE: Are there operating costs for facilities that come out of that SASI funding?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: Can you repeat that question, the last one; and I might ask Wes Battams to step into the hot seat.

Mr WHETSTONE: Are there operating costs for the facilities that come out of that SASI funding?

Mr BATTAMS: No. The net appropriation that is identified specifically for SASI operations is about $3.5 million, supplemented by about $600,000 of revenue that comes in from partner national sporting organisations. All of the operational costs, facility-related costs, are absorbed through the Office for Recreation and Sport, and so our budget is a direct operational budget, and approximately $1.3 million is allocated on sports science and performance-related support.

The balance of the funds are allocated for direct program-related expenses for the nine sports programs and the individual scholarships. The only administrative infrastructure, you might say, would be in essence me and some secretariat support there. The other is all directly related to implementing programs; so, coaches and support staff.

Mr WHETSTONE: Are there cases where the Office for Recreation and Sport hires a facility and then charges SASI to use it?

Mr BATTAMS: No. We have internal arrangements through the Aquatic and Leisure Centre as part of the agreement there. Access to training facilities for water polo, diving and swimming is built within the arrangements the government has with the Aquatic Centre and other facilities. I mean, the only leasing we would pay would be we have a lease for the Boat Shed, for example, at West Lakes, but they do not charge us to use the water.

Mr WHETSTONE: Fair call. How much of the funding goes directly into the nine high performance sports programs, and what do the individual sports receive of that funding?

Mr BATTAMS: I can provide the breakdown. It is approximately $2 million for the specific sports programs. The investment level for the different sports programs varies and is made up of a combination of state government or SASI funding plus joint investment from the national sporting organisations.

Mr WHETSTONE: How has the minister allocated priority to the four sports for targeting medals, particularly when we have nine high performance programs?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: SASI works with the national sporting organisations to work out what the priorities are going to be and what sports will be looked after by SASI. Sometimes it gets down to an individual athlete will come along in a particular sport and things will be tailored around them wherever possible.

Mr WHETSTONE: As an example, there is a South Australian Olympic trampolinist who has a real chance at a medal at the 2016 Olympics. He is being forced to pay his own way. He is having to fund himself almost entirely. He is getting support from SASI but this program is no longer funded through the high performance program.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: I might ask Wes to answer that one.

Mr BATTAMS: Since 2012, there has been a national high performance strategy put in place by the federal government and endorsed by the state governments and that is called Australia's Winning Edge. The focus of that strategy is for Australia to place in the top 5 at the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games and to be the top Commonwealth Games nation. It is an unashamedly focused strategy with targeted investment, using a business model, with the sports that can contribute the most to the medal tally at the Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games being invested in.

As part of that strategy sports themselves have changed their investment portfolio. For example, Gymnastics Australia previously jointly invested with SASI to run a national high performance program in trampoline in South Australia. As part of the AWE strategy, Gymnastics Australia assessed that that program was no longer a medal prospect and hence was not a priority for their investment and withdrew their joint funding and that program was concluded as a Centre of Excellence program.

Individual South Australian athletes, such as the one you are talking about, were retained on scholarship by SASI to contribute towards their training and development but the level of funding that they received previously, as a national Centre of Excellence program, from Gymnastics Australia that would allow them coaching and international travel was reduced by the national body.

Mr WHETSTONE: Thanks, Wes. While I have you there, through the minister, how much funding was spent to maintain the SASI facilities at Kidman Park in 2014-15, and was any money spent on upgrading those obviously ageing facilities?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: There were upgrades undertaken at Kidman Park at SASI in the 12 months but we will have to take that on notice and get back to you with those details.

Mr WHETSTONE: Also, what funding was spent on upgrades at the SA Athletics Stadium in the 2014-15 year?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: I will just get that figure for you. I will give you what we have on hand here. We have a special purpose grant of $400,000; that is part of that $4 million that was spent around the state. That was to provide for 196 new seats under cover adjacent to the main grandstand, a 90-metre section upgrade of the eastern tiers to six tiers enhancing spectator access, an upgrade to the marshalling area adjacent to the 200 metres start, shaded areas for spectators, turf regeneration—because it was pretty arid and unappealing out on that part of the track—and a detailed design for the full set of spectator tier upgrade works. That was 400. Then there was $30,000 for irrigation infrastructure, which enabled the javelin and discus areas to be available for event programming. Through the 2014-15 State Facility Fund, Athletics SA received a further $355,000 to deliver further upgrades to the spectator part of the stadium.

Mr TRELOAR: Minister, I take you to Budget Paper 4, Volume 3, page 78. In regard to racing, under activity indicators, I note that the number of consultations with the racing industry was targeted to be 26 in 2014-15 and it ultimately finished at 57 consultations. Does this show that the streamlined consultation process the government was utilising was not really effective?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: I am advised that there were some extraordinary circumstances which led to increased consultation around live baiting and other issues like that.

Mr TRELOAR: Just on that theme, how does the government propose to meet a target that is once again reduced in 2015-16?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: It is going to vary year to year, depending on the number of issues. Since it was corporatised back in 2000, the government has a very different role than it had once upon a time.

Mr TRELOAR: What has been the feedback from the industry about the government's approach with regard to consultation now and the way you are managing that?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: I have not had any complaints about it. My door is always open and they have my mobile number. I meet with people right across all the different racing sectors. We had a good meeting a couple of months ago down at Morphettville with the provincial clubs and the country clubs, which was terrific. I want to do that as often as I can as well—when I say 'often', I mean once or twice a year—because it is a good place to get feedback. We know that many of us get out to the track. I have been to the Mount Gambier races and the Port Lincoln races already this year—

Mr WHETSTONE: Been to Mindarie?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: No. How is your track going up there?

Mr WHETSTONE: Good. Just waiting for the minister to come.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: It is a great place to be, but sometimes everyone is a bit busy. You have a race meeting to run and everything else, so it is a little bit hard to talk to the people who are actually running the event. I found it really interesting to go down and spend some time talking to the provincial clubs and the country clubs during their regular meeting at Morphettville and, as I said to them, I am happy to talk through ideas.

In fact, one of the ideas I heard in the discussions with them—and we do not know whether or not it will come off—was to do with the fact that because of OH&S they need to have running rails and they need to be good running rails, but at tracks like Penong, Roxby Downs, Quorn and several places around the state they only run one race meeting a year. To put in running rails for one race a year is pretty cost prohibitive, but at the same time those race meetings mean so much to those communities. Streaky Bay is another one. It is apparently the most fun of any race meeting anywhere in the state. I do not know whether you have any tales that you can regale us with, member for Flinders.

What I suggested was that maybe we could look at a set of mobile guard rails that we could have in a container or a couple of containers. We could have the foundations in the ground at these racecourses and then just transport these running rails around as needed. There is going to be a lot less heat stress and other climatic stress on them because they would be packed away for the majority of the time, but it would tick the OH&S box, and I think it would ensure that we can keep those very important country race meetings going in those smaller communities where they mean so much to them.

Getting back to the point about consultation, I will continue to be out and about as much as I can talking to people across all three codes. I know that the staff we have in the Office for Recreation and Sport also always have the phone ready to answer and a door open to listen to what people want, and they also get out to the track as much as they possibly can to see firsthand what is going on.

Mr BELL: Budget Paper 4, Volume 3, page 78, activity indicators. Of the $33.2 million for the recreation, sport and racing budget, is there is any funding allocated for the Mount Gambier track which has been a debacle for 10 years due to a botched redevelopment some 10 or 11 years ago?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: The short answer is no. There is no money in there because, as we have said before and I explained to you in a briefing a few weeks ago that we organised with Thoroughbred Racing SA, the sport was corporatised in 2000 and what happens now is that money goes to the three codes and that is money forgone by the South Australian government. It is the turnover tax on TAB betting across the three codes. It is done on a pro rata basis, so if harness racing gets a certain percentage of the turnover then they get that percentage of the pot, if you like, another percentage goes to greyhound, and then another percentage goes to Thoroughbred Racing SA, which is up to them to spread between the metropolitan club with the SAJC and the country and provincial clubs.

We must remember that when this track upgrade was done 10 years ago it was done by Thoroughbred Racing SA, and for whatever reason the job just was not done properly. The wrong sort of base was put down, so there is a real problem with drainage. I was actually at the Mount Gambier Cup when it was washed out after race 3, the steeple, and I know that there were a lot of disappointed people. It was the first time in the 140-year history of the event that the Gold Cup had not been held, so it was very disappointing, although I am happy to say that when it was re-run a few weeks later at Penola everyone was let in free of charge and they got a good crowd there. It is good that in the record books in years to come 2015 will not be a dash because the cup was not held.

The problem is that the base was not done properly 10 years ago and drainage is insufficient, so water pools there. It really restricts the number of race meetings that the Mount Gambier club can hold.

I know Thoroughbred Racing SA has competing interests around the state with other race clubs. I guess there is also a bit of a list of priorities and people they have looked after in the past, so if it is not really Mount Gambier's turn—this is something that came out of the meeting—and there are two or three other racetracks somewhere in the state that are in front of Mount Gambier in the queue, then that has to come into it. There is no money allocated at this stage, but as I said at our last meeting, we are happy to keep being involved and seeing what we can do. Maybe it does not come out of office of rec and sport; maybe there could be something there in the regional grants or something like that.

You have my mobile number. We are always happy to take your calls and work with you in the community down in the Mount. I grew up on those racecourses down there, getting my great-aunt to put bets on when I was five or six years old. She looked after me and did not take a slice of the dividends when she gave back the winnings, which was good. I have a real soft spot for the Mount and for racing in general in the South-East, so any way we can help we will.

It really is a difficult situation in terms of the $7 million or $8 million a year that goes to the three codes, which was $7 million or $8 million that used to come into the coffers for the South Australian government. We are missing out on that money. We entrust it to the three codes to use it as they see fit. If you get stuck, come and see us and we will see what we can do.

Mr BELL: As the minister knows, just following on from that, what is genuinely happening down there is that the club is losing two to three races a year, which is basically putting their finances in about $100,000 a year deficit. This is probably just a word of caution that it is on a slow decline and it will not be too many more years before racing in the South-East ceases to exist at the Mount Gambier track due to this continual slide. We are in this slow death role, so any support that can be garnered is greatly appreciated.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: We also understand the importance of the location, because you have trainers and owners on both sides of the border, so it is really important that we have a successful and well-run racing club in Mount Gambier. It also supports a lot of people who earn their keep out of the racing industry down there. It is definitely on the radar, as you know. We are very keen to help in any way we can. We do have a list of priorities and we do have a large amount of money going to racing. It varies each year depending on how many people are on the punt, but it is usually around $7 million to $8 million a year.

Mr TRELOAR: Are you able to provide an updated status on the proposed national racing integrity advisory group that was announced as a target back in 2012-13?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: It has not really gone far at all, but not for lack of desire on our behalf. We would love to be part of it. We have been keen to back it right from the start, but when you try to get all the states and territories involved, particularly New South Wales does not like the proposal. It has not actually gone anywhere yet, because we need to get all the states and territories to get behind it and back it. We cannot have half of us going one way and the other half going the other way. I guess it is a work in progress and let's hope it does not take as long as the national rail network to get everyone lined up and on the same gauge.

Mr TRELOAR: So it is something you are still pursuing, though, minister?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: Yes, it is raised at national meetings and stuff like that between the jurisdictions.

Mr WHETSTONE: The Commonwealth Games is obviously a topic building. I refer to Budget Paper 4, Volume 3, page 77 under highlights. There is mention of the Commonwealth Games. Why has the state government not allocated any funding to the Commonwealth Games bid, particularly given there was a $700,000 grant for an Olympic appeals committee in the 2013-14 budget?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: The money you referred to was for a four-year Olympic cycle and it is to support the athletes, to get them to the Olympics, rather than for us to go for the Olympics and try to bid for the Olympics. In regard to the Commonwealth Games, we have a bit of time on our hands there. The Commonwealth Games we are likely to go for is in 2026 or 2030, and 2030 is probably the first one we can go for. If it is 2030, they are not going to decide who gets that until 2023.

The thing that worries me is the sort of expense that you have to go to for some of these international organisations now, including the Commonwealth Games. The body of work that you would have to do to put your case forward is about $5 million to say, 'We have got this and we have got that.' You might think that is $5 million we could put into grassroots sport or some other recreation and sport facility somewhere. It is a tremendous amount of money. While there is no rush to actually put forward a bid to host the Commonwealth Games, we should take a little bit of time to work out whether that is a necessary expense.

We know what we have in terms of existing sporting infrastructure and we know what we have in terms of existing transport infrastructure. We would have to look at a couple more facilities. We would have to look at a Commonwealth Games village for the athletes. I wonder whether a $5 million outlay just to basically throw your hat in the ring is a good use of taxpayers' money when we have so much need out there, I guess across all portfolios, but if we just leave it to sport and recreation, that $5 million could go a long way. I am sure Wes could do a lot with $5 million down at SASI, for example. It is something we will keep looking at, but it probably does not have the urgency that a lot of other things do.

Mr WHETSTONE: I am disappointed to hear that. I think that is a bit of a glass half empty approach. When I look at all the other countries around the world that have hosted Commonwealth Games, it is not about the $5 million and it is not about what you achieve at the Commonwealth Games, but it is about the upgrading of facilities for sport in general and it is about bringing our sporting facilities up to speed at a wide level. I visit, as you do, many sports facilities that are in dire need of funding and in dire need of a focal point and I think that the Commonwealth Games bid is something that would be crucial to bringing the state to a good level with sport.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: You are preaching to the converted there and I think that would be great. I do not think everything is in dire condition here. We have just spent a lot of money on an upgrade of the velodrome, which is one of the best in the world. We have the best aquatic centre in the country down at Marion. We obviously have Adelaide Oval, the best stadium in Australia at the moment. We have some fantastic facilities, so the skeleton is there. Yes, some things need a little bit of an upgrade and they will need more of an upgrade by the time 2030 rolls around.

Mr WHETSTONE: Come on, 2026.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: I listen to Robert Gerard and he thinks someone else has 2026; I think it might be Halifax or something. He seems to have the inside word on what is going on. Whether it is 2026 or 2030, they are not going to announce the winning bid for 2026 until 2019. I would love to see it, but I think we are going to need a huge commitment from the federal government on it as well. The federal government has put a few hundred million dollars into the Gold Coast hosting the next Commonwealth Games, which will be held on the Gold Coast in 2018.

I am not saying no to the Commonwealth Games and I like the Commonwealth Games. I saw firsthand what it did to Glasgow and we are nowhere near in the sort of condition that Glasgow was in pre games. Glasgow had a reputation of being an old city and an industrial city with buildings caked in black soot or whatever the build-up was on them. They used it to provide not just a great sporting event for a fortnight but a great sense of pride in the Glaswegian population, and also a legacy.

They went after the legacy, and that is the thing we will have to get right if we do go for it. We would want to make sure in the five years leading up to the Commonwealth Games, if we were to get them, that we had many test events here and really used the facilities we have to put Adelaide and South Australia on the map throughout the commonwealth and also that we upgraded things like disability access and so on. Those things are game changers. I think we are as one on the positives. It is just how you commit to that $5 million.

Of course, getting back to that is the legacy as well, that seven years after the Commonwealth Games and that afterglow when people want to compete on the track or in the pool that was used in the Commonwealth Games. I think we are as one in our vision in that we can see it as a real winner. It is just that in tough economic times, a long way out from when they are going to make the decision, would we pay $5 million and then perhaps have to get that work redone between now and 2023, if it is 2030 that we are going after? I am happy to keep having the conversation, but I just do not think we have the money for the sort of facility and asset-scoping that is required.

I do not know whether it is the right thing to do. Has world sport built up this industry around it to keep consultants and all these other groups in money? How do you justify $5 million? I am not asking you the question; I am asking a rhetorical question: how do you justify $5 million going around saying, 'We've got an aquatic centre at Marion. Oh, gee, I didn't realise we had that. We've got an Adelaide Oval.' It is actually not that hard to work out what it is that you have. And then we talk with our transport department: how are the linkages? Do we need another tramline somewhere? Have we got the right public transport infrastructure?

As I said, the biggest thing we would have to look at would be the village and where we would locate it. How you would build it, and what sort of funding model would you use? Would you have one where an operator comes in to build it so that it is fit for purpose for the village and then converts it into apartments and keeps all the profits? That would probably be the best thing, if you could keep it off the government's balance sheet. There are all these questions to go through. The big hurdle I see is that $5 million one.

Mr WHETSTONE: I am sure there was more than $5 million spent on consultants during the pre-consulting stage for the Adelaide Oval, but we digress.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: At least we knew we were going to get that. That is the thing: when you know you are on a sure thing, you will put in the $5 million because you want the work to be done well, but if you are going to put in $5 million to see if you are going to get in the queue to get through the door, there are a lot of things that can go wrong between handing over the $5 million and getting what you want at the end of the process.

Mr WHETSTONE: Well, we spent $2 million on Lance Armstrong.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: We did not spend $2 million on Lance Armstrong.

Mr WHETSTONE: Alright, I will move on. A desktop facilities audit has been completed by the department. Has a full economic impact statement been associated with those costs and compiled in preparation potentially for the future of our sporting facilities?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: We did do that desktop study to look at all the facilities, and it showed us that we were in pretty good order in terms of our facilities. It pointed out things that we pretty well already knew. We would love to have some more indoor facilities for sports like volleyball and the like. The economic statement is the one that would cost the $5 million, and that is the one that we have to work out in term of what else does not get funded to come up with the $5 million to go into a game of chance. I would like a bit more security around it.

We are still in discussions with the Commonwealth Games Association of Australia and we will continue those negotiations and discussions. We want to make sure that we do not get caught in some bidding war with Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, or another state. I do not think Australia can afford to waste money on consultants because a sporting organisation pits two states against each other or two states decide to go up against each other. I think it is a waste of money. I would rather see it spent on footy boots, bicycles, basketballs and things like that that actually deliver to grassroots sport, or into facilities that are going to help our elite athletes who are going to try to get to the Commonwealth Games. I actually think there is something wrong with the system at an international level that requires all this work to be done at such an early stage.

Mr WHETSTONE: Yes, I think it is planning in general with anything that is a major investment. Minister, of the overall sport and rec budget ($33.2 million), how much is specifically targeted for assistance in women's sport?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: Again, I thank the member for Chaffey for the question. It is actually impossible to pull it all apart and give a 50:50 answer or a 51:49 answer because we support facilities right across the sporting spectrum. What I can say is that I have been delighted with the work the Office for Recreation and Sport has done in women's sport in the time that I have been involved. I have been to a conference where they spoke about getting more women in leadership roles as well, not just on the sporting field but around the clubs, and I think that is really important. It has obviously been a focus of our government since 2002, when we came out with an objective to get at least 50 per cent membership of women on boards and a commensurate number of women as chairs of boards. So, there is all that work being done.

The Premier has appointed Katrine Hildyard as his parliamentary secretary, and one of her specific roles involves women in sport. I come from a strong background as a journalist who always pushed women's sport. I think the people at the ABC nearly had a heart attack when I told them we were not going to be running Sheffield Shield packages every night. This is back in 1996 when no-one was actually going to the cricket to watch Sheffield Shield. We did stories on women rowers, netballers, basketballers and hockey players because they were the people all of Australia tuned in to watch every four years but were so largely ignored by the media in the four years in between. So, I have a strong background in supporting women's sport.

The Office for Recreation and Sport is the state government's lead agency for the implementation of policy on recreation and sport and it is committed to raising the profile of and acknowledging the important role women play in all aspects and at all levels of sport in South Australia. The Office for Recreation and Sport has implemented the following initiatives to improve the representation of women in governance and leadership roles.

In 2012, when the Australian Sports Commission released its high performance strategy, Australia's Winning Edge, it noted there was a compelling case for change in Australian sport. The key area of focus was a commitment to a number of mandatory sports governance principles for the most highly funded organisations, and the Office for Recreation and Sport has since promoted these principles in South Australia. Principle 2.6 of the Mandatory Sports Governance Principles states:

There is good evidence that diversity on Boards leads to better corporate performance. The Commonwealth Government has set a target of a minimum of 40 per cent of Commonwealth Boards being female by 2015. Similarly, the [Australian Sports Commission's] position is that each [national sports organisation] should seek to achieve a target of 40 per cent…over a similar timeframe.

The Office for Recreation and Sport has now adapted the Australian Sports Commission's Mandatory Sports Governance Principles to suit state associations, with the aim that they will become aspirational key principles for all state associations. Included in the Office for Recreation and Sport's key principles is a requirement for a minimum of 40 per cent component of either gender on boards. The Office for Recreation and Sport is strong in its belief that a board consisting entirely of one gender, including solely of women, is considered not to represent good governance.

In 2014, the Office for Recreation and Sport hosted the conference 'Governance, diversity and opportunity: are you on board?', which had a primary focus on promoting the need for gender diversity within the world of sport, and especially within sporting governance, including board and executive positions. I was pleased to be at that conference here in the city. It was terrific to see the sort of support and the great line-up of speakers that had been arranged.

A focus now for the Office for Recreation and Sport is to increase the number of skilled and experienced women on sport and active recreation boards and committees as a step towards further diversity. Like the Australian Sports Commission, the Office for Recreation and Sport has undertaken governance reviews with five strategic important organisations: Swimming SA, Yachting SA, Basketball SA, Hockey SA and Rowing SA.

The Office for Recreation and Sport continues to support all five organisations to implement the findings of the reviews but believes some organisations would benefit from assistance in understanding unconscious bias and its limiting impact. That is why the Office for Recreation and Sport has offered Yachting South Australia and Swimming South Australia the opportunity to work with an external expert to address this—an offer which each organisation has accepted.

The Australian Institute of Company Directors' 'Foundations of directorship training' was recently made available to 25 women in the sport and active recreation sector to increase their skills and confidence to seek board positions within state sport and recreation organisations. In April this year, the Office for Recreation and Sport hosted an initiative, Business Meets Sport, to provide professional women with an opportunity to network with the chief executive officers and board representatives of state sport and active recreation organisations.

The Office for Recreation and Sport recognises more still needs to be done to address issues regarding gender diversity on sport and active recreation boards. It is also very important to highlight the many and diverse roles women play in sport and recreation while also being participants and fans. The Office for Recreation and Sport is committed to remaining active in this area and to ensure a vibrant and sustainable industry that contributes to the economic wellbeing of South Australia.

I guess that is a good wrap-up of what is happening off the field and in the sporting arena, but we are also making sure that all the sports, no matter what the gender, get the same sort of attention that they deserve without any bias to one gender or another.

Mr WHETSTONE: There is obviously bias. I think for too long we have heard all those lovely words that you have just said about gender balance, but women's sport is underrepresented, underfunded, and is given far less attention than the cross-section of sport in general. The reason I ask this question is that last year there were targets in the 2013-14 budget for women in sport—emerging leaders, as you have previously said. I would like to think that the Premier will put action into the budget bottom line and give better representation to women in sport.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: I do not think the government can take all the responsibility for a lack of recognition for women in sport. I think the media have got a lot to answer for, and I think private enterprise has got a lot to answer for when it comes to getting behind women's sport and supporting it. I think the government is probably doing as good a job as anyone in making sure that the gap between men's and women's sport is as narrow as possible. I think the real problem lies elsewhere. I think we saw that with Adelaide Lightning. When they went looking for a private sponsor, there were not too many people putting their hand up.

I think that people in business should look at the people that they have in their own organisation. They should look at their customers and work out that 50 per cent of them are women and there is a lot to be gained by getting in and sponsoring and backing women's sport. I think Priceline should be congratulated for their outstanding contribution to the Adelaide Thunderbirds. They obviously see it as a really important marketing position, as the people they are marketing to are largely women. Why would you not get on the shirts and the television banners of one of the most successful women's sports teams in Australia, the Adelaide Thunderbirds?

To all those companies who are out there supporting women's sport, good on you: I hope you continue that, and thank you for backing these really terrific teams. Whether they be at the grassroots level or at the elite level, I think support of the private sector and the media is important, and the media have a lot to answer for.

I remember having a conversation with a mate of mine who is a sports journalist at one of the commercial stations and I said, 'Why do you run a story about someone missing a night's training in January or December because they might have hurt their little pinkie but you don't run a story on some outstanding achievement by a female athlete somewhere?' He said, 'The audience gets what it deserves.' I thought, 'The audience gets what you serve up to it.' I think some of the commercial TV stations think that people do not want to watch women's sport, and that could not be further from the truth.

If we look at the success of the Matildas campaign in the soccer Women's World Cup recently, people do have a thirst to see women participating in sport, and I would love to see the media change their focus a little bit. I do not think we need to have the navel gazing at the AFL that happens so much. I am sure many within the AFL would be happy to have a little bit of a reprieve as well. I know they have their sponsors to look after but sometimes some of the stories are bordering on the ridiculous and hardly newsworthy.

The CHAIR: We need to remind everyone the time has passed.

Mr WHETSTONE: May I have one last question?

The CHAIR: You would be pushing it. Hurry up.

Mr WHETSTONE: It is an old chestnut, minister. What I would like you to explain is the difference between the recreation and sport fund and the Sport and Recreation Fund?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: It is an old chestnut. I can hear Iain Evans in the background somewhere, almost. I think we have had this one every year when Iain was in the role. I am going to hand this over to Paul Anderson.

Mr ANDERSON: The recreation and sport fund came out of the old soccer pools act and, since then, it has been the lotteries act and it is about $220,000 a year that comes into that. It was most recently used to help pay off the Netball SA debt on the netball stadium. The other fund came from the Gaming Machines Act, so they are actually two different things. The Sport and Recreation Fund feeds straight into what we are doing with the Active Club Program, part of our targeted funding, the state facilities fund and so forth. They come from two different origins and they are used for two different purposes.

The CHAIR: There being no further questions, I declare the examination of the proposed payments of the Administered Items for the Department of Treasury and Finance adjourned until Monday 27 July and thank all members and advisers who have attended.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: I thank you for your wonderful work today as Chair of this committee. I also thank the government and opposition members who attended and all the staff who have been so diligent in putting together so much information across all the different portfolio areas that we have examined today. I also extend a massive thankyou to my own staff who do a tremendous job all year round, and they deserve to be acknowledged for their outstanding contribution.

The CHAIR: Well done. In accordance with the agreed timetable, I advise that the committee stands suspended until 4.30.

Sitting suspended from 16:18 to 16:30.