The Shadow Minister for Sport, Senator Kate Lundy, told Parliament yesterday that the Howard Government has failed to deliver on its promises to the sporting community.
“If I was to talk about the Howard Government’s achievements in sport I’d only have one positive thing to say – they underwrote the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games,” Senator Lundy said.
“After two terms, we’ve had three sports ministers, and with all due respect, I believe the quality of performance has declined with each minister.
“The Howard Government simply does not understand that by investing in grass roots sport and recreation they will achieve a far greater return for Australia.
“The tremendous gains made from the Sydney Olympics would have been squandered were it not for the pressure the Labor Party exerted on the Coalition to reverse five years of cutbacks to both community-based sport and the Australian Sports Commission.
“The fact that the government belatedly restored funding in the last budget does not compensate for years of budget cuts and their failure to provide sport and recreation opportunities for all Australians.
“One of the mast callus acts of the Howard Government – this one perpetrated by Sports Minister Jackie Kelly – was to wield the funding axe on community sport by cutting the vital and highly regarded Sport and Recreation Development Grants program. These grants were the lifeblood of Regional Sports Assemblies and community-based sporting organisations.
“The funding may not have been large, but the Sport and Recreation Development Grants program was used by local sports assemblies to keep community sport programs operational.
“Ever since this mean-spirited funding cut was introduced, many local sporting and recreational activities have been axed.
“But if slashing funding for vital community sport wasn’t bad enough, you should here what local clubs are saying about the GST.
“Julie Sarll, chief executive officer of Vicsport, recently highlighted how the GST directly resulted in a decline of volunteers in community sport and recreation clubs. This is what Ms Sarll told The Age on 5 August:
“It’s killing them. Compliance cost in terms of the GST is a huge time cost for the volunteers and they’re just not willing to do it. They’re not willing to be a tax collector for the government.”
Ron Burns, Chairman of Sports Industry Australia, was quoted in yesterday’s Sunday Times stating:
“…people opt out of roles such as treasurer because of complications with the GST.”
“Since the introduction of the GST, I have heard from dozens of community-based clubs and sporting organisations that have lost their volunteer administrators and treasures because of the extra workload imposed by the GST. And it won’t surprise anyone that the biggest problem for non-profit sporting club treasurers and administrators is the Business Activity Statement.
“And it probably won’t surprise many people to know what Minister Kelly’s response was. According to a report in yesterday’s Sunday Times, the Minister’s office claimed she was ‘not aware’ of concerns about GST compliance!
“I suggest that reason Ms Kelly knows nothing about the problems of the GST on volunteer run clubs is that she never goes out and talks with the people who run them. This government is so blatantly out of touch that the treasurer has the effrontery to tell people they should volunteer more!
“Tell that to the overworked mums and dads out there collecting Mr Howard’s tax for the government and staying up late at night to fill in their BAS statements just so their children can play sport.
“There is no question that the GST is negatively impacting on families in terms of sport. In fact, just this month the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation sited the cost of sport as one of the major barriers preventing children from playing sport.
“This situation has become so series in recent times that the Junior Sports Unit of the Sports Commission has urged National Sporting Organisations to modify their competitions because many families can no longer afford to pay for their children’s sporting needs.
“Another group totally ignored by the Coalition is women, and sportswomen in particular know about the litany of broken promises.
“When the Howard Government launched An Illusory Image: A Report on the Media Coverage and Portrayal of Women’s Sport in Australia in 1996, they promised to increase the profile of women’s sport in Australia and increase female participation in both physical activity and senior administrative positions.
“You know what the Howard Government has done for women’s sport?
“They slashed funding to Womensport Australia. They refused to ensure sufficient funding for Womensport Australia. They asked for three-year funding cycles given that demand for their resources and services increased after the Olympics.
“They scrapped the Prime Minister’s Women In Sport Award.
“When this government was elected, one of the first things Mr Howard did was scrap the Prime Minister’s Women in Sport award. This award was extremely important in raising the profile of Australia’s female athletes and creating role models for girls and young women.
“In fact, retaining rewards like the Prime Minister’s Women in Sport award is one of the specific recommendations in An Illusory Image, which was endorsed by the Coalition.
“The Howard Government also downgraded and marginalised the Women in Sport unit at the Australian Sports Commission.
“Time won’t permit me to detail all of the Howard Government’s failures in sport -
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The White paper that cost taxpayers $270,000 for what ended up a book-end in Minister Kelly’s office;
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The non-existent 2000 Plus Task Force, which Mr Howard promised in 1996;
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The incredible waste of money by the Minister on stunts, events, talk-fests and glossy publications;
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The sporting ‘brain drain’ caused by the Government’s refusal to ensure funding after the Olympics;
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And the total dismissal of the sporting needs of our Indigenous peoples.
“In sum, this is a dismal record of failure to deliver, of broken promises and of marginalising those most in need,” Senator Lundy concluded.
81/01. Media contact: Simon Tatz on 02 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295
