SOCCER

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:05): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Police, representing the Minster for Recreation, Sport and Racing, questions about youth participation in soccer.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: It has been reported that hundreds of young soccer hopefuls are being turned away from local soccer clubs in the North-Eastern suburbs. A figure recently reported in The Messenger newspaper is that as many as 150 players have been turned away in this season alone from North-Eastern suburbs' clubs such as Para Hills, Modbury Vista, Modbury Jets and Tea Tree Gully junior soccer clubs. Para Hills Knights, for example, have created a new team, allowing 14 more young children to join their club, but they have reportedly had to turn away almost 100 young players.

The club chairman was quoted as saying that parents are desperate to get their kids in, and they call up and say that every club they have called is full. In addition, most of these clubs need support to expand their facilities to accommodate this massive influx of young players. Some clubs, such as Modbury Vista, are currently leasing the nearby Wynn Vale Primary School soccer pitch so that its young players can have somewhere to train. Alarmingly, people to whom I speak who are involved in junior soccer also report club membership fees to try to cover costs have skyrocketed in recent times. My questions are:

1. Will the minister acknowledge that the grants programs such as Active Club Move It and community recreation and sports facility grants are too difficult to access and are, in fact, inadequate?

2. Will the minister commit extra funds to ensure that we make appropriate amounts available for our children to make sure they can play sport?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (15:06): I will pass those questions on to the Minister for Recreation and Sport in another place and bring back a reply.