Female Facilities Program

Ms HILDYARD (Reynell) (14:29): My question is to the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing. Is the minister aware of whether the SANFL will punish clubs, officials or players that attended yesterday's protest about the dedicated female facilities program?

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni: They're not the union movement.

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Industry is called to order.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:29): I thank the member for the question and reiterate the point that I do not control the SANFL. What I would like to say is that it is great to be partnering with the SANFL. I want to let those opposite know because I think they have missed the point here. I think they aren't quite aware of the growth in female participation in football. I would like to think that they are aware, but clearly they are not.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The acting leader and member for Kaurna are warned.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: Working with the key stakeholders of the sports, being the SANFL, the SACA and Netball SA, what we noticed was a real big growth in women's football. It may be missed on that side. They may be missing the message, but there is a big growth.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: I hear them protest, so I presume they realise that there is a big growth in women's football.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: There is a point of order. Before I call the member for West Torrens, the member for Mawson is warned.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Relevance to the debate, sir. The question was very specific.

The SPEAKER: I have the question. That is a fair point of order but, in defence of the minister, there were some interjections during his answer.

An honourable member: Just from this side?

The SPEAKER: No, not just from that side—from both sides. I will allow the minister to come back to the substance of the question. I will be listening very carefully to his answer.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: The substance of the question was the SANFL. The SANFL are committed, because of the growth in women's football, to developing this program with us. So is the SACA because—again, they may not be aware on that side—women's cricket is growing as well and so is netball. That's why we have put this program in place. In fact, the SANFL and the SACA were so engaged with this project that they put a million dollars in as well.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: On this side of the house, we are very focused on delivering a growth in participation for athletes in our state.

Dr Close interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Acting leader!

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: We want to grow community participation. We want more people playing sport, and we have identified that women's football and women's cricket are big growth areas for South Australia and so is netball. We are investing in that, and we are going to get good returns for South Australia. We are very happy to be rolling out this program and very proud to be delivering this program for the people of South Australia.

Dr Close interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The acting leader will not interject.