Motions

AFL National Women's League

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. T.T. Ngo:

That this council—

1. Congratulates the AFL for establishing the National Women's League;

2. Wishes the players all the best for the inaugural 2017 season; and

3. Recognises the important role that providing elite sporting pathways for women plays to encourage girls to participate in sport.

(Continued from 28 September 2016.)

The Hon. T.T. NGO (19:48): Roughly 25 per cent of Australian Rules Football players Australia-wide are women. Last year, 195,000 women across Australia played the sport. Since 2015, there has been a 60 per cent increase in the number of women and girls playing club Australian Rules Football in South Australia. There are 17 clubs and 27 teams in the open women's and over 18s competitions in the South Australian Women's Football League. Since last year, there has been a 15 per cent increase in the number of girls participating in Auskick.

Clearly, women and girls want to play footy and are doing so in increasing numbers. Despite this, only men have been able to compete in footy at the elite level. It is needless to say that the AFL National Women's League has been a long time in the making. Honourable members may or may not be aware that women have been playing Australian Rules Football since World War I. Originally, exhibition games were organised by a group of retailers to provide entertainment and raise funds for soldiers, among other causes.

There are some reports that women continued to play for teams in subsequent years. However, the real push towards an organised competition for women began with the establishment of state-based women's football leagues, the first of which was created in Victoria in 1981, then came Western Australia in 1988. Following the success of the Victorian and Western Australian leagues, the first South Australian women's Aussie Rules game was played in 1990 between the Thunderbirds and the Cougars.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: Who won?

The Hon. T.T. NGO: I am not quite sure, to be honest with you. The South Australian Women's League was established the following year with four clubs. The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory both established leagues in 1999; New South Wales established its league in 2000; Queensland soon followed in 2001; and Tasmania's state league was formed in 2007. All states and territories now have their own women's football league. Women have had the opportunity to play nationally at an elite level through biannual national championships, and in the last few years in AFL exhibition games. The final exhibition game this year was played at Whitten Oval on 3 September between the Demons and the Bulldogs.

The Hon. T.A. Franks: Hear, hear!

The Hon. T.T. NGO: I can tell you who won that game: the Bulldogs won by 39 points by kicking 14 goals and six points for a total of 90 points to the Demons' seven goals and nine points for a total of 51 points. The game featured 44 of Australia's best players, and was an opportunity for players to be scouted. Channel 7 broadcast the game, which had an average of 746,000 viewers, and peaked at 1.05 million viewers nationally, which is very surprising.

The Hon. T.A. Franks: Not surprising.

The Hon. T.T. NGO: It is very high. This is a very interesting stat: it was the highest number of viewers for a Saturday night game this year, outranking the men. I commend Channel 7 for broadcasting the game and Fox Sports for broadcasting the first three exhibition games this year. Negotiations are underway for next year's coverage. I hope that as much coverage as possible is on free to air. Such coverage is incredibly important because the 2015 report, Towards a Level Playing Field: Sport and Gender in Australian Media, compiled for the Australian Sports Commission, showed that male sports made up 81 per cent of television coverage and women's sports only made up 7.4 per cent, which is quite low.

I congratulate the AFL on establishing the National Women's League. I was pleased when the February 2017 start date was announced. Eight teams will compete in the league: Adelaide, Carlton, Collingwood, the Western Bulldogs, Melbourne, Freemantle, Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: Where's Port Adelaide?

The Hon. T.T. NGO: They gave up their spot for the Crows. Each club has already selected the majority of their players. Prior to the draft, each club signed two marquee players and were able to sign two priority players and two rookies. The Crows signed marquee players Chelsea Randall and Kellie Gibson and priority players Angela Foley and Courtney Cramey, as well as rookies Erin Phillips and Jasmine Anderson. During the draft, Nicola Barr, a University of Sydney midfielder, took the number one draft pick and will play for Greater Western Sydney.

The Crows selected a number of talented players including local midfielder Ebony Marinoff, Canberra United soccer player Jenna McCormick, Adelaide Lightning basketballer Anne Hatchard, and VFL commentator, Abbey Holmes. The clubs have until the end of October to fill the last three spots.

I must admit I am a little sad that Port Adelaide will not have a team. As I said to the Hon. John Dawkins, Port Adelaide gave up their spot for the Crows. Even worse than that, the Crows poached Erin Phillips, daughter of legendary Port Adelaide player Greg Phillips. I hope that after a couple of seasons more teams, including Port Adelaide, which is focusing on expanding the game from the grassroots, will be added to the league.

In the meantime, I will reluctantly support the Crows women's team as the only South Australian team in the league. Fingers crossed they will make it to the grand final, and that it is played at Adelaide Oval. I am sure many honourable members, including the Hon. Terry Stephens—who many of you would know is a very devoted Crows supporter and Adelaide Oval fan—will be pleased to hear this, and I wish all of the players the very best of luck.

The AFL is providing a new elite sporting pathway for women. Such pathways are incredibly important because they show girls that, if they are dedicated and have the talent, there will be an opportunity for them to play their respective sport at the highest level. A number of talented female athletes have quit football due to not having the opportunity to play at the elite level in the past. I have already mentioned South Australia's own Erin Phillips, who quit to become a professional basketball player. I would also like to highlight Brianna Davey, another talented athlete, who began playing football as a child but quit because she wanted a career out of it. Brianna then took up soccer and was goalkeeper for the Matildas. She has since returned to the sport that she loves, and has been signed on as one of Carlton's marquee players.

This new pathway is particularly exciting from an equity standpoint. Despite keen interest, women have not had the opportunity to play footy at the elite level, until next year. Tayla Harris, a top player from Queensland, pointed out that the national league will mean that girls can go from taking part in Auskick from the age of five through to playing at the elite level. When Tayla took part in Auskick, there was no clear pathway for her to go from Auskick to senior level footy like there is now. The national league is the final step in ensuring that girls have the opportunity to not only continue the sport after they enter high school but to go on to the highest level.

I am proud to be part of a state government which is supportive of the national women's football league. The government will provide $275,000 in funding for the Adelaide elite women's team to help in its first year. I commend this motion to the chamber.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins.