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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-04-02 Daily Xml
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Women in Sport

The Hon. S.L. GAME (14:37): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before directing questions to the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing regarding women's sport.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.L. GAME: World Athletics recently announced it would reintroduce mandatory cheek swabs for all female track and field competitors to detect any athletes with Y chromosomes attempting to compete in women's events. In this chamber on March 20, the minister responded to a question about her government's support of women's sport, saying her government is serious about backing women and girls in sport, and is determined to advance a legacy of equality and inclusion. The minister also said we must champion the positive impact of South Australian women, especially our female athletes. My questions to the Minister for Sport, Recreation and Racing are:

1. Would the minister and her government encourage biological males who identify as female to participate in sport against girls and women and be celebrated for doing so?

2. Does the minister concede that biological boys and men competing against biological girls and women have an unfair and potentially dangerous physical advantage, and that this advantage could also lead to psychological harm to the girls and women they claim to be serious about backing and wanting to provide equality for?

3. How would the minister and the Malinauskas government define a woman?

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Autism, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:38): As I have said before in this chamber, I think we have shown that as a government we want to invest in sport. Whether it is from grassroots right through to SASI, having the most incredible opportunities for people to become elite athletes—and I emphasise 'people' because, at the end of the day, all South Australians should have the opportunity to participate in sport.

It is something, when you step onto a field, a court, into a pool—wherever you are going—that you get to compete not only as an individual but as a team and do the very best for our state and also potentially our country. It is where you get to be a part of something bigger than yourself, no matter what your background is, where you have come from, to be on that journey of being able to participate in sport.

I encourage anyone to participate in sport, because it is a very powerful tool to be a part of a community that will give you the skill set, give you the ability to participate not only in leadership roles on the field but off the field as well. I think that has provided many opportunities for people across a diverse community to be able to shine a light on what the power of sport is. So my message to you is: anyone in South Australia, any South Australian, no matter their background, no matter who they are, as an individual, as a team, should participate in sport and be recognised for doing so.

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