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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-03-26 Daily Xml
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Sports Vouchers

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (15:21): My question is to the Minister for Recreation and Sport. Can the minister provide an update to the house about the government's sport vouchers program?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson—Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Recreation and Sport, Minister for Racing) (15:21): I thank the member for his question and his keen interest in sport at all levels. I am pleased to update the house about the Sports Vouchers program announced by the Premier in March last year ahead of the election, something that was very popular with people throughout South Australia because we know we have a lot of young people who aren't participating in active sport, and the earlier we can get them involved in sport the better.

We have so far seen a lot of interest. I wrote to all the sporting clubs and the sporting groups in December last year, and 1,336 clubs have now pre-registered. Out of those, 830 clubs across more than 50 sports have since completed the full registration process and are now listed as sports voucher providers.

We have also been advertising through social media, and I am pleased to say that the promotion has reached more than 194,000 South Australians. Since 1 February, the sports vouchers website has been receiving an average of 4,203 views per week, with more than half of all visitors to the website using tablets or smartphones and 29 per cent having been directed there via our social media campaign on Facebook and other forums.

After a club has been selected online by the parent or guardian or caregiver, they can enrol their child and receive a $50 discount off the membership fee. The club recoups this amount online from the Office for Recreation and Sport. On 5 March this year, the Para Hills Gymnastic Club, located in Ingle Farm in the member for Playford's electorate, was well prepared and became the first provider to claim a redemption for 62 sports vouchers. As I said at the outset, this is something that is open to all primary school children right across the state. Para Hills has also played an important role in securing an exciting sports—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: The member for Playford will be—

The Hon. J.J. Snelling: They're not my children, no.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: No, not all 62—just about 10 per cent. Para Hills has also played an important role in securing an exciting international sport event for Adelaide which was confirmed last night at the brand-new Convention Centre.

The World Hapkido Championships and leaders seminar will be held in Adelaide in 2017. I must say I learned a lot about hapkido last night. It is taekwondo with weapons and it is very big overseas. It is a self-defence based martial arts system with a huge international following, and its South Australian base is at Para Hills.

An honourable member: What sort of weapons?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: Swords, knives, sticks—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: Yes, it's good. I shook hands with a bloke—a bit of a karate chop. But the world championships will attract more than 2,500 participants to come to Adelaide of whom 2,000 will come from overseas. The event is likely to take place in May 2017; it is a three to four-day competition and its estimated economic impact will include 10,000 bed nights and more than $5 million in spend in South Australia.

I commend the work of David White, the president of the Australian Hapkido Federation, the Adelaide Convention Bureau and the Events South Australia team in securing this event. I also acknowledge the Grand Master Don Oh Choi, Grand Master Ali Modiri and Master Yong Kim who came from Korea to do the presentation.

Ms Chapman: They didn't get a voucher?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: No, they made me an honorary black belt, and this guy had to put his knee up on my guts to get the black belt on, and then we had to cut it off with the jaws-of-life because my head was turning purple. However, it's a great honour to be an honorary black belt in this wonderful sport.

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