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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-08-30 Daily Xml
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FIFA Women's World Cup

Ms HUTCHESSON (Waite) (14:49): My question is to the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing. How is the government harnessing the legacy of the recent Women's World Cup to empower more girls and women to participate in sport?

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD (Reynell—Minister for Child Protection, Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:50): Thank you to the member for this question. I want to acknowledge her passionate support for clubs in her community and also her work in her role as Deputy Chair of the South Australian Women in Sport Taskforce.

I am humbled by what our state and this country experienced and advanced through the brilliant FIFA Women's World Cup. It is fair to say that this tournament exceeded even our most extreme expectations. The magnificent football on display from the women who proudly represented the 32 nations who qualified for the finals was inspiring and the response from the public was phenomenal. Mary Cavey, one of the many volunteers here in South Australia, reflected, and I quote:

As a little girl in the early 90s, I played in the boys' team. But now, women's football has blown up thanks to this tournament. Volunteering as a driver in Adelaide was the most rewarding experience, working with like-minded football fans and seeing the city I love come alive. Finally people understand our sport, our passion, and that next little girl that wants to play will have all the opportunities she needs.

I could speak at length about the tournament's success, the way our state celebrated the strength and talent of these athletes, the packed stadiums, the FIFA Fan Festival, the TV audience, the fervent support from so many diverse parts of our community and the growth in participation, but I want to talk about this government's passionate support for an investment into advancing women's sport and gender equality. Long has Labor demonstrated this support.

When we were last in government, 41 projects with a total investment of more than $42 million were enabled through the dedicated female facilities program. Sadly, this program was cruelly cut by those opposite, to the fury of clubs across our state, who rallied and petitioned against this travesty. In this government's first budget, we invested $13.2 million—

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, there is a point of order. Please be seated. The Premier is called to order. Member for Hartley!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Standing order 98, debate, sir.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Morialta has the call.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I was unable to hear the member for Morialta.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Standing order 98, sir.

The SPEAKER: Very well, debate. Minister, I bring you back to the substance of the question.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: As I was saying, in this government's first budget, we invested $13.2 million into female facilities, and just two weeks ago, as the tournament reached its conclusion, we announced a new $18 million investment into women's sport, with $10 million of that quarantined for football, and Football SA will partner with us to unlock other funding sources.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: The other $8 million will be made available more generally for clubs to advance girls' and women's participation—

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: —whether that be through new or upgraded facilities or training to support the development of coaches or officials. This investment once again clearly demonstrates our government's steadfast commitment to enabling girls and women to equally and actively participate in the sport they love and to harness the momentum of this tournament.

This is a commitment that has already been demonstrated through our $1 million investment into our sold out, inspiring Power of Her, Women's Leadership Symposium, participation officers for Football SA, and our program to roll out domestic violence prevention programs across sporting clubs. Football SA expects participation numbers to increase by a third over the next three years in response to this magnificent world cup.

When we made our announcement about this new funding we were joined by young Gisela Moro, a six-year-old sport fanatic. We are determined that Gisela and the thousands of young girls like her can fulfil their sporting dreams and know that this government backs them.

The SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.

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