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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-03-22 Daily Xml
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Hindmarsh Stadium Upgrade

Mr TARZIA (Hartley) (11:36): I move:

That this house—

(a) notes the excellent progress of the over $50 million Hindmarsh Stadium upgrade;

(b) commends the former Liberal government for its commitment to investing in the new state-of-the-art facility that will host multiple 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup matches; and

(c) notes that this was part of an over $400 million investment into sport from the former state Liberal government across South Australia.

It is an exciting time to be in Adelaide at the moment as we know and we all cannot wait for the women's football World Cup to start here. It will be held, of course, in July and August of this year.

It is a tremendous time to be a soccer, or football if you prefer, fan in South Australia. How could you not be excited about the progress of the over $50 million Hindmarsh Stadium upgrade? I was there only last weekend and I had the privilege of not only watching women's football but of course also the Adelaide United men where they played against Wellington Phoenix and it was a 5:1 result. It was absolutely electric. It was a packed night and so many people were there, which was fantastic to see.

This upgrade has enabled South Australia to host multiple rounds of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup at our new state-of-the-art soccer stadium. We should not underestimate the power of holding the Women's World Cup here in Australia and, in fact, Adelaide hosting five of those matches. Did you know that up to two billion sets of eyes will be watching Adelaide when the Women's World Cup comes here to South Australia?

This over $50 million upgrade enables South Australia to host five matches of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. This is a vision realised and made possible thanks to the former Liberal government. Without this upgrade to Hindmarsh Stadium, I think that there is absolutely no way we would have held these matches here in South Australia. We know that this upgrade includes the construction of new change rooms and that has enabled the stadium to host A-league women's games and about time too.

I am proud to have been part of the government that finally enabled women to play the sports that they love at the level that they deserve. It cannot be emphasised enough just how key this upgrade was in securing that winning bid. It was fantastic to hear on 26 June 2020 that Australia would actually host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. This is a major win for the country and very exciting for soccer fans right across the country. What was even more exciting was Adelaide learning that it would hold and host five matches, which presents an enormous opportunity. There will be a whole array of benefits that will be deduced from having these World Cup matches here in South Australia.

As I said, up to two billion sets of eyes will be watching South Australia during these games. That is absolutely enormous. When you consider and you compare that to, say, an AFL grand final where there might be three million or four million sets of eyes, here we are talking about up to two billion people who will be watching these games, and they will be watching these games being held right here in Adelaide.

Of course, this was following a highly successful tour. FIFA officials came through. They visited Hindmarsh Stadium in 2020, and of course they loved what they saw. Adelaide will host five rounds of this fantastic world-class sporting event, much in thanks to the former state Liberal government. We know that supporting women in sport was a major focus for the former government. We know that in supporting women's soccer we did not just have a task force, what we did is we actually backed it up with money. We backed it up with money. We invested $26 million into the State Centre of Football at Gepps Cross.

Those on the other side do not like hearing this, but the fact is, believe it or not, the Minister for Sport was not responsible for Gepps Cross, it was actually the former Liberal government. We invested several million dollars into the State Centre of Football at Gepps Cross and that will serve as the training camp for the Young Matildas soccer team, right in time for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

This upgrade alone includes a 1,000-seat grandstand, show pitch, administration centre, function centre, two synthetic training pitches, and also multiple five-aside outdoor pitches. All of these things were part of an over $400 million investment into sport right across South Australia. This side of the house could not be more excited about the FIFA Women's World Cup and its arrival in Adelaide, which will be played on a freshly upgraded Hindmarsh Stadium, courtesy of the former state Liberal government's investment.

It was a privilege to be able to play on this pitch recently. In fact, what I can say is that I am actually undefeated at Hindmarsh Stadium, with a whole range of my colleagues in this house. You should have seen the member for MacKillop, on this side of the house, streaming down the wing. With many of my other esteemed colleagues on the other side of the chamber, we participated in a charity football game to raise much-needed funds—I think over $100,000 were raised, actually—for the victims of flood-affected areas.

All I can say is playing on that pitch was like playing on carpet. It was absolutely immaculate. That surface was absolutely immaculate. Unfortunately for me, I just did not get the delivery that I should have got—or the game time, in fact, that I should have got—to make sure that I scored that day. But all in all, it was played in good spirit. It was wonderful to see the fruits of the labour of all the people who were involved in putting that stadium together, that pitch together, but also that facility. It is quite a privilege to be able to play on that facility.

When you look at it now, you see a much better optimisation of the facility. It is much better for spectators. It is a better overall match-day experience. You can have corporate facilities on both sides, not just one. There are also refurbed patron facilities, much better disabled access, and, as I said, the pitch has been replaced. There are better corporate facilities, which are also essential for the longevity of the game, because we know that we have to attract those corporate sponsors to the facility as well. Overall, we are very excited to watch the Women's World Cup.

This week I attended with the Minister for Sport a reception at Government House, and all I can say is that we have done so well in this state to host these games here. We look forward to seeing the Matildas do well, and we wish them all the very best, but let's not forget that we simply could not have hosted these games if we did not upgrade this facility. We should be proud of that. We are really looking forward to the Matildas, and we wish them well in the upcoming World Cup.

As I said, up to two billion sets of eyes will be on us here watching the Matildas play in Australia. Two billion sets of eyes will be watching games that are hosted here in Adelaide. We should not underestimate that, and may it be one of many World Cup events that we continue to host. I would love to see the men playing here, maybe one day in the not-too-distant future playing here in Australia. We look forward to seeing the Matildas do well in Australia and New Zealand in July and August when the World Cup is on. I commend the motion to the house.

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) (11:45): I move to amend the motion as follows:

Delete paragraph (a) and insert:

(a) notes the completion of the Hindmarsh Stadium upgrade;

Delete paragraph (b) and insert:

(b) expresses its disappointment at the former Liberal government for its initial unwillingness to bid for Adelaide to become a host city for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup; and

Delete paragraph (c) and insert:

(c) commends the Malinauskas government for its vision and investment in sport, particularly for its work towards providing opportunities for girls and women to equally and actively participate in the sport they love.

In approximately 122 days, the FIFA Women's World Cup comes to South Australia. On Monday 24 July, Brazil will face Panama at our recently renovated Hindmarsh Stadium. When we see this match, and each of the five that we will host with the greatest footballers in the world taking to the pitch, it will be incredibly exciting.

As I have said before, it will be transformative; transformative because when we see women celebrated for being strong, physical, powerful and talented, the way women are seen changes. It will progress our collective effort toward gender equality. It will ensure that women are not seen as people who only participate in sport through particular sorts of volunteering, but they are centre stage. This gives us unprecedented opportunities to shift the way that the roles women can play everywhere are seen and understood.

I anticipate that we will see a full stadium with many football-loving people and spectators attending to experience an opportunity that quite possibly—although we hope differently, as the shadow minister said—may not occur again in our lifetime. I can already visualise the drums being played by the Brazilian fans along Manton Street, as they march towards the stadium. Panama will be basing itself in South Australia for the entirety of its stay, and we cannot wait to welcome them here and celebrate their culture. When the game kicks off between the South American heavyweights and their Central American neighbours, I think only then will the true magnitude of this event really resonate with South Australians.

The new lights at Hindmarsh will shine bright as the clock counts down for the start of the match. The renovated media centre will be full of journalists from across the globe, covering the biggest sporting event in Australia since the Sydney Olympics. I think it is vitally important that this place note the completion of the upgrade to Hindmarsh Stadium which has, if it was ever in any doubt anyway, confirmed our stadium as the best football venue in Australia.

New light towers, big screens, food and beverage outlets, amenities and corporate seating complete a three-stage upgrade that commenced in 2021 and meets FIFA requirements to hold Women's World Cup fixtures. This is something South Australians always knew, and we are all so proud that our state, our city and our stadium will be broadcast to the world and to millions and millions of people, but it could have been very different for South Australia.

It almost seems unfathomable that a football state like ours would not be part of this global phenomenon that is the FIFA Women's World Cup. The reality is that it well and truly could have happened. How quickly those opposite forget about their conduct when Football Australia put out requests to state governments for the states to be part of the bid to be host cities. It is galling now to see the backslapping and attempts at self-congratulation. It seems rather apt to take this time to remind them about how exactly this process played out.

The previous government was on the public record as saying that it was not a good deal for South Australia, and they withdrew us from Australia's bid. Imagine contemplating turning your back on a tournament that is expected to attract a cumulative viewing audience of 1.5 billion people. Their former tourism minister was quoted as saying that Adelaide was out of the bid, following a comprehensive event analysis and stadium challenges. Hindsight is magical, of course, but how ridiculously inept does that sound now? He added that displacing hundreds of thousands of AFL fans for at least six weeks would be prohibitively costly and impractical. This is an excellent time to remind the house of an opening paragraph from an InDaily article at the time, which said:

The State Government did not contact the Crows, Port Adelaide or the AFL before ruling out Adelaide Oval as a venue for Australia's FIFA Women's World Cup bid…

Following a huge outcry from so many South Australians, and a petition signed by thousands of local football enthusiasts, they finally—finally—decided on participating in the bid. Maybe, until this point, they did not think Australia could win.

The member for Dunstan, then Premier, was paraphrased as saying in the media, 'An expanded event has ensured South Australia was able to negotiate to use Coopers Stadium as it is at the moment.' It seems they may not have even wanted to upgrade the stadium, but now they want to congratulate themselves for upgrading it. It seems those opposite have short memories and are now desperately trying to grasp onto the hope that the South Australian public has forgotten the initial disdain with which they treated this tournament.

As the shadow minister spoke about, I recently attended a FIFA Women's World Cup event, where the Chief Executive Officer of Football Australia, Mr James Johnson, spoke. I was really glad to see the member for Hartley there, and I am really glad that he now does support the event, which is great. James Johnson told the audience that the Matildas are now the fourth most recognisable national team in Australia.

I am really proud to be part of a government that recognises and values women's sport. I am proud to be part of a government that understands the significance and importance of investing in sport, whether it be at a national or at a grassroots level. I am proud to be part of a government where all members of the community, including girls and women, have an opportunity to equally and actively participate in the sport they love. We must ensure that women and girls have access to the facilities, training and equipment they need to pursue their sporting passion.

The state government has made several commitments to raise the profile and participation levels of women in sport in South Australia, including the election commitment to re-establish the Women in Sport Taskforce. Those opposite say they support women's sport and physical activity, but the truth is that it seems that the case is otherwise, and the proof is there for anyone to see. The $24 million Female Facilities Program—cut. The program was so popular and oversubscribed, and we are now seeing the benefits. The Women in Sport Taskforce—cut. Instead of taking heed of the progress that was being made, they cut this task force and set back its progress four years. The synthetic surfaces program, a $10 million program—cut.

The FIFA Women's World Cup is a generational moment for South Australia. The eyes of the world will be watching Australia and Adelaide. We have an opportunity to utilise the World Cup as a tool for change, not just for football but for sport and our community in general. I am deeply determined to ensure sport and recreation promotes and provides for a healthy, safe, inclusive and strong South Australia. We will not rest until we achieve this goal.

This government has committed a further $1 million as the excitement of the FIFA Women's World Cup grows: to grow participation in football; to develop women's leadership; and to deliver programs in clubs, aimed at preventing violence against women and children. This legacy funding is aimed at ensuring we maximise the benefits of being part of the World Cup for now and the future. This funding is about ensuring our legacy makes a difference to women in sport and everywhere else for generations to come.

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (11:54): I rise to support the member for Hartley's motion. I want to recognise the success of what the $53 million upgrade to Hindmarsh Stadium will mean to South Australia, not just to celebrate the world game that will host five rounds of the Women's World Cup in South Australia. It gives me an opportunity to reflect on my time as a young fellow, when I had the opportunity to go out onto the Hindmarsh Stadium pitch and compete for Woodville, before it then moved on to Woodville Birkalla. I was very honoured, back in those days, as a teenager, to go out onto that hallowed pitch and to be as proud as I was to have the opportunity to play the great game at Hindmarsh Stadium.

I am concerned that the minister will turn this into a political slinging match. It should be applauded that the former government put an investment into Hindmarsh Stadium—Coopers Stadium, as it is affectionately known—

The Hon. K.A. Hildyard: Look at the original motion. If you had left out that one line, we would have been fine.

Mr WHETSTONE: As I hear the background noise, I continue to recite that as a former shadow minister for sport the then member for Reynell used to come along to some of those sporting breakfasts. It was back then that women playing the great game were changing in the car park under a Labor government. They were changing two blocks away at the Entertainment Centre.

The Hon. K.A. Hildyard interjecting:

Mr WHETSTONE: Yes, they were, and that was under a Labor government. So what I would say—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister! Member for Newland! Member for Adelaide!

Mr WHETSTONE: Just hear me out.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr WHETSTONE: You can gaggle on all you want; just hear me out.

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Chaffey will not respond to interjections and interjections will cease.

The Hon. K.A. Hildyard: I love being explained to by the member for Chaffey about women's change rooms. It's excellent.

The SPEAKER: Order, minister! Member for Chaffey has the call.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr WHETSTONE: The member for Reynell just cannot help herself.

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Chaffey!

Mr WHETSTONE: She is more interested in a slinging match than she is about celebrating the great game.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr WHETSTONE: We should be here talking about South Australia's achievements. Having five rounds of a Women's World Cup qualifying in South Australia is a great achievement. It is a great stadium and it is multipurpose, not only for the great game but I have attended a number of concerts there, some of the great concerts that have come to Australia's shores. Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters comes to mind. I think it has been one of the great venues for outdoor entertainment, apart from the great game. I do want to reflect on some of—

The Hon. K.A. Hildyard interjecting:

Mr WHETSTONE: I do not want to reflect on some of the selective commentary by the member for Reynell, because I do want to reflect on—

The SPEAKER: Member for Reynell, come to order!

Mr WHETSTONE: —the five rounds of FIFA World Cup soccer this year. It is not only paving a way for future sporting opportunities in South Australia but particularly for women. We know that the world will have those two billion sets of eyes focused on Australia hosting the world game. It will be a focus on women's sport and I think it will be a generational change. It will give an opportunity for aspiring young girls and women to participate, to look at opportunities they might have.

Whether it might be a parent trying to promote sport within the family unit, or whether it might be an aspiring student or a young girl or young woman who is looking to be a part of that great game, I think that the upgrade of the Hindmarsh Stadium and hosting those five rounds of FIFA World Cup qualifiers here this year is just a game changer for sport, particularly for women. What we need to better understand is that we should be celebrating, we should be acknowledging what South Australia will be able to achieve.

We have upgraded the Hindmarsh Stadium; it is now fondly known as Coopers Stadium. But more importantly it is about a generational change. The upgrade of the stadium will also be complemented by the former Liberal government's $400 million investment. While we have the Minister for Sport continuing to sledge that there were programs cut, she forgets to talk about the $400 million that was put in to sport here in South Australia. That was $400 million that accelerated sporting programs, that accelerated not only the fabric of sporting programs and facilities here in Adelaide but the opportunity for those facilities right round South Australia.

What I must say is we must understand that this is a great investment. It will boost regional economies and tourism, and it will encourage sporting development, it will encourage the opportunities for local talent, it will encourage participation and it will encourage those who are looking to excel in their chosen sport.

The increased accessibility to sporting facilities by the former government will have and has had lasting impacts, particularly in the great electorate of Chaffey. There was the Barmera Golf Club—nearly $9,500 for installing automated irrigation and fairway upgrades. If we look at the Berri Barmera Council, it received $142,500 for installing new air conditioning systems, insulation and cladding at the newly built Berri Sports Stadium. More than $361,000 was provided towards the Barmera multisport change room and oval lighting. That is an outstanding outcome, just to name a few.

We cannot forget the Cobdogla Tennis Club. That is a tennis club in the very, very small community at Cobdogla that punches well above its weight. They are winning national awards. They are developing great young talent. I must say that to go out there and be a sponsor of that club warms the cockles of my heart—to see these young, aspiring sportspeople, tennis players, out there punching well above their weight. They are out there on a national circuit, and they are bringing home the accolades. They are bringing home the trophies that they are so proud of.

We also need to understand that over time we have seen the Berri Football Club receive $150,000 to redevelop change room facilities, umpires' rooms, medical rooms, the parent change rooms underneath the memorial grandstand. In addition there is the Moorook Bowling Club. Now, there is a great little community on the banks of the River Murray, and they have done it pretty tough for a long time. They received nearly $21,000 to install a synthetic bowling green. The synthetic bowling green has brought that club to the fore now. They are attracting people and they are attracting new membership, as well as putting up lighting there so that people can participate after hours, so that people can be attracted to what is one of the great generational sporting codes.

So I think sporting organisations by and large are contributing to the growth and prosperity of the regions, particularly in Chaffey. Promoting sport, promoting healthy activities, promoting healthy communities and lifestyles is one of the great fabrics of living in the regions. For those of us who are regional representatives, we know that attracting people to sport, attracting families to sport, is a great pastime, but it is also a great way of life. It is one of those bonding mechanisms that is a great fabric of small regional communities.

In Chaffey we have a lot of small communities, and if it was not for those sporting facility upgrades, if it was not for those upgrades to attract new entrants or to continue to be more diverse in allowing after-hours sport and not relying on daylight hours, we would not have some of that community spirit that we are currently enjoying.

I think the member for Hartley's motion was put in good spirit. I wish the world game, the women's qualifying—the five rounds that will come to South Australia—all the best. I wish the public all the very best in being able to secure tickets, to take along their family, to take along aspiring young soccer players who will be one day either representing a club, representing a zone, representing the state or even representing their country.

I have had the privilege of representing my country, I have had the privilege of representing my state and my community clubs, and it is one of the great honours of playing sport. I look forward to more contributions from a number of people in the chamber to celebrate what is one of the world's great games.

Ms SAVVAS (Newland) (12:05): I am incredibly happy to support the amendment put forward by the member for Reynell today. I am a fierce advocate for women's sport and also girls' sport, which I think is incredibly important, and decisions like these have a huge impact on girls' sport and the growth of girls' sport across our state.

I often tell the story of my little cousin Grace, who, like me, is a Port Adelaide supporter. I went to tuck her in a few years ago, reading her a story before bed, and she was wearing her Port Adelaide pyjamas. She asked me what number Port guernsey I had worn at Auskick as a child. This is a crucial story for me, because I had to then explain to my young cousin that I did not have the opportunity to play Auskick as a child because it did not exist.

That, to me, was a really pivotal moment and one that I think of in everything we do as women and as female leaders, because now my little cousin Grace is growing up in a world where women's sport is not just normalised but is almost at the equal point—still a way to go—and getting towards equality, and there are female role models for little girls to look up to in sport.

I will never forget the day—and I attended alongside the member for Reynell—when I was able to attend the first Port women's game. Lining up in the line I saw my little cousin Grace. I ran over to her and she was in tears, she was so excited. We both lined up, I got her a Port women's scarf and an Erin Phillips badge, and we hugged and laughed and talked about how exciting it was for women and girls across our state to finally be at the place where our team was playing women's sport.

Her kids one day, my kids one day (I do hope I am first—she is only 14), will of course know no different, and it is the same in soccer. How exciting here that in South Australia we are able to develop infrastructure and put money into something like the Women's World Cup, not just for women playing the game but for little girls watching, knowing that they have the opportunity to one day play too.

The Hindmarsh Stadium underwent a $53 million redevelopment in time for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup; $45 million of that was provided by the state government, with Adelaide Venue Management Authority contributing a further $8 million for needed technology enhancements. While these upgrades should be celebrated, it is important to note the former government's mishandling of the World Cup bid by refusing to participate in a bid altogether at one stage. Only after community outcry did the former government see how important it was for South Australians that Adelaide was a host city.

We know very well that the previous government did not fight too hard for our state, nor does it generally fight too hard for the rights of women more broadly, but of course we are serious about backing women in sport and absolutely committed to ensuring that girls and women can equally and actively participate in the sport they love.

Our government is also investing in local sport, so not just girls but also little boys can grow up healthy in mind, in body and in community at the clubs they love. I am lucky to have not one but three soccer clubs in my electorate—two and one on the fringe; technically the third one is in King—that I am happy to support. Recently I attended with a number of local members, and members from the opposition as well, the opening of the Modbury Soccer Club upgrade. Modbury Jets are a brilliant club and last year made it as far as into the round of 16 in the Australia Cup.

I went out to Gepps Cross with the member for Wright to support the club with his three young girls, who can now, in a world they are growing up in, see female role models in sport. Two of his girls were particularly excited because twins were playing on the team, and they can see twins to look up to in sport as well.

State Labor governments have a long track record of supporting the needs and growth of football/soccer in South Australia. The State Centre of Football at Gepps Cross received $19 million in funding from the previous state Labor government, where we watched that game. I know it was us because there is a brilliant photo of Minster Koutsantonis opening the stadium right there on the wall. I took a selfie with it and passed it on to him on the night. The Gepps Cross venue is, of course, equipped to host all levels of competition, from grassroots through to elite. It has hosted a camp with the junior Matildas, our young female sportswomen, and will be used as a training ground ahead of the FIFA Women's World Cup.

We were so proud of the efforts of one of our local clubs, the Jets, and just loved that we were able to watch them at this state-of-the-art facility. We will be continuing to back them in their progress this year. We also have a number of other really wonderful sports clubs. We have the Modbury Jets Amateur Football Club, who raise significant money for suicide awareness and mental health awareness after the loss of someone in their community a few years ago. We also have the Tea Tree Gully City Soccer Club, who are a community club that continue to give back. Just a few weeks ago, the member for Wright, the member for King and I attended their CFS Shield where they were playing soccer against the One Tree Hill Soccer Club, which raised $6,000 for local CFS stations.

I am a huge supporter of women's sport, and women's football, the world game, is no exception. We know, of course, that you cannot be what you cannot see and now we can see more and more that women and girls, like my little cousin, have female role models to look up to in the sports that they love. Large-scale events, such as the FIFA Women's World Cup, can very much shape the career trajectories of girls in sport. It is a pivotal moment, shifting perception about women's sport here in SA. That is why it was so important for us to fight to have the event here.

That is one of the many goals of our government, to celebrate women in sport and ensure equal and active participation in the sport of their choosing. Our government has provided a million dollars to the FIFA Women's World Cup so we can fully embrace the benefits of this monumental event. This funding will be used to grow participation in football, develop women's leadership and deliver programs in clubs and communities aimed at preventing violence against women and children, another cause incredibly close to my heart. We will also host an international standard Women in Leadership Symposium to be held during the FIFA Women's World Cup, as well as a number of other initiatives.

I am pleased that the upgrades to Hindmarsh Stadium are now complete. That included new stadium lighting, a roof for the eastern grandstand and a major overhaul of the stadium's change rooms. We prioritised, through the $24 million Female Facilities Program, what I refer to as the Katrine Hildyard change room program, the upgrade of change rooms. That was us who did that before it was then cancelled, cut by the former Liberal government, so that women could indeed play sport at local clubs. They cut the program. There is no question. I will repeat that they cut the program, that is what they did with it, after it was invested in by our government and the minister, of course, who is sitting right here, delivered that.

These facilities will welcome the Women's World Cup to our city when we play host to the five 2023 World Cup matches, including England, Brazil and a number of other countries. The upgrades will leave an enduring legacy for football in South Australia, with the new and improved features set to be enjoyed by fans and teams for years to come.

There has never been a more important time to nurture and grow female participation in sport. This is a pivotal moment not just for female football players but for all sportswomen who can see here in South Australia a tangible goal and a tangible event for them to aspire to. This provides the government and Football SA a significant opportunity to provide a lasting legacy to grow the game to encourage young women and young men to pursue playing football and indeed pursue it to the highest level.

The previous government's initial decision not to participate in the World Cup bid sent a terrible message. It sent a message about their well-known lack of regard for women's sport and was a severe blow to those hoping to see the event here in Adelaide. We campaigned with the community, with thousands of petition signatures and then, of course, in response the government agreed to be involved.

I know what this says about how the opposition view women's sport. It also shows what they think about investment in events and tourism in our great state. It also shows their view about the development of female role models for young sportswomen. We already know what they think about female role models for young women interested in politics, so it is no surprise of course to see that that is their attitude as well.

Truly backing women's sport means fighting from the outset to participate in bids, including for one of the greatest sporting contests in the world for the world game, the Women's World Cup. I am very happy to be supporting the amendment today.

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (12:14): I rise to briefly support the member for Hartley's motion. Unusually, I have a family connection to Hindmarsh soccer stadium and its site. My family have been farmers in this state from the 1830s, and the first place they farmed apparently was where Hindmarsh Stadium is today. It is quite a connection for my family to that piece of land, and it may be why the pitch is so good. It goes back to those early days of farming by the Basham family. They seemed to keep the Hindmarsh tradition because from there they moved to Hindmarsh Valley, so we are very much connected to the Hindmarsh legacy of this state.

The stadium itself was built in the 1960s, and has had an interesting journey over its time. I certainly remember the discussions around the Olympics in 2000, and how it was so important that we get the Olympics here. There was an upgrade to the stadium at that stage to bring the Olympics to South Australia, so they could be played at Hindmarsh Stadium. There was also discussion on whether we would consider shifting daylight saving and the time zone to Eastern Standard Time so it would make it easier for people to understand, but that was not supported, so we continued to have that half-hour difference through the programming.

We have seen some great different sporting events held there over time. We have seen at times rugby played on the ground. We have seen many opportunities for this wonderful stadium to be used, and it is great to see the investment the previous government put into this. Over $50 million worth of investment has brought this stadium up to a modern facility: the extra undercover areas on the eastern grandstand, new stadium lighting, super screens, new media facilities, and better corporate areas. All those are there to make sure we have great sporting events in South Australia, and it is great to see the Women's World Cup being brought here.

Also, I think it is so important that we do invest in sport in our regions as well. I am very proud to have seen the spend in my patch over the previous government's time, and there has certainly been some great investments. One that really comes to mind is the Victor Harbor Archery Club. Pat Coghlan, an Olympic archer, is very much the driver behind this club. They had a great investment and built an indoor archery range there, so they can compete indoors as well as outdoors. It is great to see that sort of investment to bring it up to a standard where the training facilities are of a standard that Olympians can train there and we can invest in their future.

We have also seen other worthy investments in the area. The Encounter Bay Football Club is an amazing club. The amount they do with the money they get for their support is amazing. They are going through right now another stage in the development of their clubrooms. We have seen the previous upgrade completed only a year or so ago with greater outside viewing areas with shade. We have seen the change rooms become much more versatile so they can have multiple teams changing in multiple changing rooms so there are no issues. It has made it very flexible. Whether women or men are there, both can be accommodated at the same time. It is very suitable for that sort of investment.

We have also seen other investment in an area that has been neglected over many years, and that was the Goolwa Oval. My father is in his early 80s. When he played football in his late teens and 20s, he considered the Goolwa Oval changing rooms the worst visitor changing rooms in the league. Interestingly, they had not been upgraded until we invested some money during our four years to bring them up to standard. The only difference between when he played and when they were finally closed for use was there were more holes in the floor where the floorboards had rotted. It is great to see that investment. The clubrooms at Goolwa that have been built are fantastic. Again, they are very versatile and very suitable to the needs of the community.

We have also seen great investments in the Back Valley Tennis Club. This is an amazing group of people. The Back Valley Tennis Club is not just a weekend club: it is a daily club. There are people out playing nearly every day of the year on those courts. There is social tennis some days, there is evening tennis and there is competitive tennis. It all occurs on those courts, and it is great to see that community very much getting behind investing in their facilities and making sure that we see great sporting events in that region.

We also have seen improvements at the Victor Harbor Oval to make sure that they have the ability at any point in time now to host AFL or SANFL games by bringing their lighting up to a standard suitable for those facilities. Bringing those facilities to that standard means that locals can also take the opportunity to play sport under lights and take that opportunity to have a wider range of options for people to be involved. People are not necessarily always available on a Saturday to play a sport like football. Giving the option for other things to be available under lights is certainly a great asset.

I very much commend the member for Hartley for bringing this motion forward because it is so important that we continue to invest in sport to make it available for those who are wanting to participate. The member for Chaffey talked about his time being able to get out onto the pitch at Hindmarsh Stadium. Unfortunately, my soccer career was not that good. I was a soccer goalie at school. My highlight I think was in about year 9 when I first took up goalkeeping in a house game. The first 11 coach came and told me after the game I had done a fantastic job as goalie. We played a team that was slightly better than us. They had four or five first 11 players in their side, and I had only let 23 goals through, but he said I had potential. Sadly, that is where my potential ended.

It is so important to give that opportunity to people, to make sure that they have that opportunity to go and participate in sport. Sport is very much our community, and I very much commend the member for Hartley for bringing this motion.

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (12:23): Coming from the great soccer community of Whyalla, I thought I better get up and make a contribution. When you look at soccer in regional communities—or football, as we prefer to call it—it has been sad, especially in my region, to see the decline over the years. I do not think there is a football team left in Port Augusta. I think there is only the one in Port Pirie, but Whyalla still has five teams, which is down from the seven that it used to be in years past.

It has a great history. Years ago, Whyalla City combined team, one of the teams that has disappeared, used to play in the state league, which was the Rothmans league at the time. It was always hard for the country players having to make the journey usually down to Adelaide. Rarely would the teams come the other way up to Whyalla.

Over the years, some players have really excelled. There was 'Buddy' Newchurch—or, to give him his full name, Lancelot 'Buddy' Newchurch. I mentioned the other day in the Voice debate how, as a 16 year old, he went over to trial for Chelsea in the UK, which is not my team. That was a demonstration of the skill of that particular player. Unfortunately, that young Aboriginal lad was dead by the age of 27. Buddy was someone who epitomised the quality of Whyalla football back in those earlier years, and in those earlier years we had a massive influx of migrants.

I did say in my opening speech in parliament that there were only two rules in our household. One rule was that north of the border you go for Celtic, and south of the border you go for Manchester United. Indeed, my dad used to take us to Old Trafford before we came out to Australia. It was an amazing atmosphere. I cannot point to a female soccer player at this stage who excels in Whyalla, but I have no doubt that that will happen given the effort that some people are putting in to propagate female participation. I did have one niece playing for a short time, but she is now doing something else.

One other person worth mentioning in the context of football is Lachie Barr. Lachie Barr played with my son, who was also a very good soccer player before going off to play for Port Adelaide. Lachie went overseas and played for a number of teams in Europe and then came back to Australia and played for Adelaide City. He now plays for Adelaide United. That is another player from Whyalla who has excelled.

We clearly need to do far more to encourage female participation when it comes to sport across the board, especially in some of those sports where women have been under-represented. It is good to see in Aussie Rules a female member of the Ewings family—Hannah Ewings I think her name is—playing for Port Adelaide. She is another very good player, but we would like to see that when it comes to soccer as well.

These debates are always interesting about what government invests in what and when. I am one of those people who likes to objectively stand back and look at it with a bit of context. You look at the legacy of different governments and what they have left. I think we should always acknowledge the good that has been done by a previous government, but we should also recognise the full history. I saw a lot of facilities, especially in country areas but also in the city—and female facilities—that left a lot to be desired. You are not at the high end, but you are at that part of sport that is so important: the grassroots end.

I saw an investment by the Weatherill government into the hockey change rooms in Whyalla. Those change rooms previously were appalling, and especially appalling for women and girls who played hockey. So we should always place an emphasis on grassroots sport because that is where it all starts. The member for Chaffey had a very valid point about how important sport is as a way of knitting together communities, especially in country areas. I used to play soccer. The team that I played for in Whyalla was more noted for its capacity to drink beer and smoke dope. Even though this was an amateur work team, we had quality players.

My brother played A grade for Westlands. I discovered as a player—I used to play on the wing—that I loved running far more than I did soccer and became quite a proficient runner, so I got something out of the soccer. I have had family members involved and my kids have been actively involved in different parts of the community when it comes to sport.

I would not call Sinead a great Aussie Rules player but what she lacked in skill and talent, she made up for in aggressiveness. She could really go for it. As I said, Ciaran ended up playing for Port Adelaide on a league contract and Liam was into archery. I would be more than confident to put an apple on my head and let him shoot it off from a distance. He is that good.

It is that involvement at a grassroots level in a community where you have kids doing this and that and the other, and then you become involved in clubs and you do this and you do that. I was an absolutely hopeless chef at the Westies football club. I said, 'Let me just do the dishes, because anyone who orders a steak is only going to get it one way. There is not going to be a bunch of variables when I'm cooking a steak: there is going to be one way.' I said, 'I am happy to do the dishes.'

Sport is incredibly important. One of the good things that is going to happen in Whyalla is the $6 million that we have allocated to a sports hub in Whyalla, building on where hockey and tennis is at the moment and utilising, to a degree, the surplus Eyre high school site that is right in the centre of the city. That will be a good investment in that community as we work through the usual local complexities.

Sport is important and some of the big investments—whether or not it is in Hindmarsh—and we can look back to what I thought was an incredibly great job done by the Rann government and their commitment to reinvigorate the central sports facility here in Adelaide. Floating around at the time the Libs wanted to do $1 billion plus and, as a country member, I always get a bit narky at the degree of investment in the CBD, sometimes at the expense of regional communities.

We did a fantastic job. It ended up being a little bit more than the half a billion, but a fantastic job at the oval here and of course we have had soccer playing there as well. It is a great facility that has clearly stood the test of time and saved us half a billion dollars in the construction process. As I said, we have the big stadiums and those investments, and they are worthwhile and important, but we should never forget that at the end of the day it all starts at a grassroots level.

To address the barriers that some kids have when it comes to participation in sport, we introduced a $50 voucher, and I would acknowledge that the Liberal government increased it to $100. I thought that was a good move because it is not easy for every family to have a child participate, and the more kids we can get to participate in sport and a range of other activities the better.

Mr TARZIA (Hartley) (12:33): Obviously, I oppose the amendments respectfully put by the Minister for Sport. The facts are these: there was an upgrade put in place by the former Liberal government of over $50 million. Without the former Liberal government, it just would not have happened.

There has been some dispute about how we came to the decision around whether Adelaide participates in the FIFA Women's World Cup. I will be the first to say that there might be a bit of a journey when it comes to these things and a rigorous debate, but the fact is that the decision was made and guess who was in government when it was made? It was the Liberal Party; it was a Liberal government and we invested proudly in Hindmarsh Stadium.

We consulted far and wide, and we got it done. We got it done. The record will show that it was the former Liberal government that got this development done—not only the investment of over $50 million in Hindmarsh Stadium but also the fact that we did invest over $400 million in investment into sport as well.

I have spoken about other facilities. There was an investment of $26 million, for example, into the State Centre of Football. We can talk about the various contributions—the $19 million from the state government, of course—but that too is a fantastic facility. Do governments work together? Absolutely, they do work together. But what we are here to do today is to put on the record that the former Liberal government has a proud record when it comes to these facilities. The FIFA World Cup will be held in Australia and New Zealand and, like I pointed out several times, there will be close to two billion sets of eyes watching football here in South Australia, here in Adelaide. We should be extremely proud of that, and the former Liberal government was a pivotal part of that.

With all respect to the Minister for Sport, who I do see regularly at events—I am not sure how she fits it all in, given her other portfolio areas as well—I will be opposing these amendments. She knows why. I look forward to seeing the results of the vote. I really do ask members to vote with their conscience when it comes to this, and may they be illuminated to side with the opposition.

The house divided on the amendment:

Ayes 21

Noes 13

Majority 8

AYES

Andrews, S.E. Bettison, Z.L. Bignell, L.W.K.
Boyer, B.I. Champion, N.D. Clancy, N.P.
Close, S.E. Cook, N.F. Hildyard, K.A.
Hood, L.P. Hughes, E.J. Koutsantonis, A.
Michaels, A. Mullighan, S.C. Odenwalder, L.K. (teller)
Pearce, R.K. Savvas, O.M. Stinson, J.M.
Szakacs, J.K. Thompson, E.L. Wortley, D.J.

NOES

Basham, D.K.B. Batty, J.A. Cowdrey, M.J.
Gardner, J.A.W. Hurn, A.M. McBride, P.N.
Patterson, S.J.R. Pederick, A.S. Pisoni, D.G.
Tarzia, V.A. (teller) Teague, J.B. Telfer, S.J.
Whetstone, T.J.

PAIRS

Malinauskas, P.B. Pratt, P.K. Fulbrook, J.P.
Speirs, D.J. Hutchesson, C.L. Marshall, S.S.

Amendment thus carried; motion as amended carried.

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