Recreation and Sport Funding

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (15:34): I rise today to talk about a regulatory change that is going to have a significant impact on our local sporting and community clubs in Narungga, and I would like to bring it to the attention of this house so that it can consider changing it before it is too late.

I was recently contacted by the secretary of the Hummocks Watchman Eagles Football Club, Robyn Hayes, who brought to my attention the fact that they had recently received a grant from the Office for Rec, Sport and Racing in order to provide their players with some training guernseys. It was a wonderful thing and the grant was warmly received by that club. However, upon receiving it they were advised that, as at 30 June 2025, they will not be eligible to receive any more grants because they need to satisfy certain gender quotas on their board.

They were informed that there would need to be at least 40 per cent females on their board in order for them to qualify for grant funding. Upon receiving this advice from them, I took it upon myself to do some research and digging because, whilst it is an admirable aim, and we acknowledge and support that there need to be more women on boards at state level and corporate level in our economy and whatnot, it is a completely different kettle of fish, I think, when it comes to our local sporting and community clubs.

I took it upon myself to do some research. I did some googling and found the Office for Rec, Sport and Racing's website, which states, and I quote:

Not for profit organisations, including community sport and recreation organisations such as clubs and associations will be required to meet the minimum of 40% women on their governing board/committee by 30 June 2025 to be eligible for Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing funding.

Upon receiving that update, I became a little concerned. I thought that there is going to be significant impact on our community and, having served on a number of community committees and sporting clubs I know that, at least in the country, it is a case of begging people to help rather than cherrypicking certain demographics that will satisfy quotas and that it would become very difficult for a great many clubs in my electorate to satisfy that criterion.

I did a quick little survey—it was not an exhaustive one; it was a quick survey—and we ended up getting 22 clubs participating. It was a random sample from across the electorate of big towns, small towns and different sports, and 73 per cent said that they expected not to be able to meet the quota of 40 per cent women and 40 per cent men by 30 June 2025. That is three-quarters of our clubs that would be ineligible for grant funding from the Office for Rec, Sport and Racing on the basis of the volunteers they have been able to secure—they have begged to help out—and it would leave them short and at a disadvantage compared with other clubs.

Of those 22 clubs, 95 per cent said they were likely to apply for funding in the short term, and 19 of them formally opposed the gender quota policy. Some of the comments we received I will quote:

In a small country community it is so difficult to get volunteers, regardless of gender. This will mean that clubs that rely on funding will miss out. It will be devastating for some small sports clubs that don't have enough of the other gender to fill quotas.

Another quote:

Being a small community club, we take what volunteers are willing to donate their time and effort. Membership comes in waves and as our society is becoming increasingly older, we have less members putting there hands up to assist in the running of the club.

Finally, another quote:

This proposed legislation is farcical—another example of government law makers being out of touch with community volunteers.

You can see that there are significant concerns out there in the community about how local sporting clubs will be able to attract funding going forward.

It is a significant issue because the sporting clubs and community clubs in my electorate are the hubs of the town. They are where people come together, where they meet, where they do their working bees and where they have their community gatherings. If those clubs are unable to attract funding, it would put their very livelihood at risk and would leave that town deprived of a community hub and meeting spot. I will be following this up. I have written to the minister, seeking a change to exclude community sporting clubs and not-for-profit clubs from this policy.

As I said, it is an admirable goal to have at a state board level, to have at a corporate level and other such things, but I think that, when it comes to community sporting clubs and not-for-profit clubs, we just need everyone who is willing to help to be able to help. We need those people who are willing to put their hand up to answer the call to be allowed on the board and the club not to be at a disadvantage when it comes to seeking grant money. I will be calling on the government to change this policy. I think that, whilst it is well intentioned, it will have dire consequences for our community sporting clubs and, by extension, our small country towns.