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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-07-29 Daily Xml
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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SPORTS INSTITUTE

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:17): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Industrial Relations, representing the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing, questions about funding cuts to the South Australian Sports Institute.

The PRESIDENT: About which cuts?

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: Funding cuts; not land cuts. Not traditional land cuts: funding cuts.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: Members would be aware of funding cuts the government has made to SASI programs. I have held a number of meetings with industry people and the heads of state sporting governing bodies. Many are concerned that, without the SASI programs, they will struggle to develop upcoming stars of the future.

The Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing has stated that the money will go directly to the governing bodies to run programs themselves. It has failed to address the logistics of the situation. SASI provides for the development of youth sport at a separate facility which has a common support and admin department. These extra services—which are strength and conditioning coaches, physiotherapy and admin, to name a few—will now have to be paid for by the governing bodies, rather than being covered generally at SASI and shared by all sports.

The reality is that, in order to cover the cost of developing our future stars, governing bodies will need to pass on these costs to those participating. This includes the cost of interstate and international trips. Unfortunately, the more talented a young athlete is and the higher and more he or she will play, the more costly it will become. My questions to the minister are:

1. Does the minister agree with the funding cuts to SASI programs?

2. Without government subsidies, does the minister agree that sporting participation will exclude many South Australian families?

3. When did it become Labor Party policy to exclude low-income families from having their children participate in elite sporting programs?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (15:19): I thank the member for his very important questions. I will refer those to the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing and seek an answer as soon as possible.

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