Aboriginal Power Cup

Ms HABIB (Elder) (15:02): My question is to the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing.

Mr Bignell: The true voice of the regions has been silenced.

The SPEAKER: The member for Mawson is on two warnings. The member for Elder has the call.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Elder.

Ms HABIB: My question is to the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing. Will the minister update the house on the launch of the Aboriginal Power Cup at Ethelton and what the Port Adelaide Football Club is doing to support Indigenous youth in our regions?

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:03): I thank the member for her question and note her great interest in sporting groups and communities in her electorate and right across the state.

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to be at the opening of the Aboriginal Power Cup. This is a great initiative that focuses on engaging young people in Aboriginal culture and identity, education, promoting healthy lifestyle choices, and developing teamwork, leadership and life skills. Now in its 11^th year, this event comprises a competitive football carnival as its centrepiece, involving 450 students from 70 schools across South Australia.

Participants in the carnival must have met strict guidelines regarding a minimum 80 per cent school attendance and targets regarding both academic and behavioural components of the program. The top teams in the carnival will play off on Friday night at Adelaide Oval as the curtain-raiser to the Port Adelaide's AFL clash against Richmond. Participants will again feature in a special cultural performance as part of the welcome to country in the lead-up to the first bounce.

The Port Adelaide Football Club has positioned itself as a leader in programs that really deliver for the lives of Aboriginal youth. These programs are having a great material impact in Closing the Gap initiatives in South Australia. I must commend the Port Adelaide Football Club for their wonderful work. Santos was a great sponsor of this as well.

One of the things that's really good about this program is that the students from all the different areas actually design their own jumper. They have a competition, they design their jumpers and the jumpers look absolutely fantastic. There was one from Immanuel school. I know from up in Murray Bridge, from a school from the region of the member for Hammond, the jumper they designed was absolutely outstanding.

I spoke to a few of the young people about who did the jumper designs and how it all came about, and the glow on their faces when they talked about the process, their involvement, their engagement with this, was absolutely outstanding. I mentioned Santos being involved as well, a good South Australian company that has supported and got right behind this program, and they have been involved for 10 of the 11 years, and they are absolutely outstanding. Representing them was Che Cockatoo-Collins.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: Those on the other side might mock these sorts of programs, but I can say—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The minister will be heard in silence.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: —they are great for our community. Che Cockatoo-Collins was there, spoke to the young people, and the awe in which he was held was outstanding. They were just fixed on what he had to say. He talked about the opportunities a company like Santos will provide for young people that want to work potentially in the mines and in the regions, but he also spoke about the opportunities that they give to the local communities by providing jobs for doctors and shop owners and dentists and mechanics and all those sorts of things that grow in a community that grows with industries like Santos around. Uncle Fred gave the Welcome to Country. He was fantastic.

On top of all that, Port Adelaide, the football club itself, supplied their Indigenous players to be great mentors. I have to single out one in particular, because when we got there they were screaming for C. Wingard. I was so pumped. I thought, 'They want me here. This is fantastic,' and I was standing at the front and people were saying, 'It's C. Wingard, it's C. Wingard!' I thought, 'I've never had so much love in my life. This is absolutely wonderful.'

Lo and behold, standing right behind me was Chad Wingard, so it was a little bit disappointing and deflated my ego, but Chad was one of the Indigenous players that was there, again mentoring these young people. Paddy Ryder was there, Steven Motlop was there, and Pauly Vandenbergh, who works for the Port Adelaide Football Club, was there, doing a great job as well, as was Marlon Motlop and a few of the other guys. They just go about their job.

An honourable member: Dom Barry.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: Yes, Dom Barry was there as well. They go about their job; they're very unassuming, but they do a great job. Again, when they just get around with the young people, engage with the young people, talk to them and show them the way and show them what their future can be, they really lock on. I just want to commend the Port Adelaide Football Club and all the players for the great work they did and the great work they do in our community. The Aboriginal Power Cup is a wonderful, wonderful program.

The SPEAKER: The member for Frome.