Dr LIM - 2000-08-08
My question concerns the Territory government’s support for the popular sport of netball, and an indication of how the opposition misleads Territorians. Some weeks ago I heard the Leader of the Opposition call for greater financial assistance for netball, with a clear inference that the sport was currently underfunded. Does netball in the Territory get a fair go?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I know the member for Greatorex is interested in netball and sport generally. The Northern Territory government has generously assisted sport for a number of years. We do it basically in a couple of ways: we assist clubs and groups throughout the Territory to run their affairs with grants for administration and we also do it by building major facilities.
The Northern Territory Netball Association received funding of $76 000 in 1998-99 and $81 000 in 1999-2000 through recreation grants for administration of netball. During 1997-98, facility funding of $285 000 was provided to the Katherine Netball Association to construct courts and $300 000 was provided to the Palmerston Netball Association to relocate to Archer Reserve. In addition, a grant of $13 000 was made available through the Northern Territory peak body to upgrade seating at Parap netball courts.
When you look at some of the things the Opposition Leader says - and she is becoming well known for this throughout the Territory, if not throughout Hobart – it is interesting that she just grabs off the media and makes bland statements which really have no factual basis. She is on record as saying she lobbies strongly for netball. I can tell you I have never received any approaches from her to support netball. My colleague to the right of me, the previous Minister for Sport, never had any approach either. The only approach he can remember, the only correspondence received in relation to netball in the time of the previous minister, was when the member for Arafura shifted into overdrive and actually managed to get something done. He dashed off a letter to my colleague, but there has been no letter received from the Leader of the Opposition.
She is also on record as saying it has the highest per capita playing of any sport in the Territory. I am not sure what that means. It probably has something to do with participation rates. Netball is in fact about the seventh or eighth-highest in participation rates. At the top of the list is Australian rules. Next comes rugby union. Then we go through hockey, rugby league, golf, basketball, soccer and touch football, and in behind comes netball.
Netball is widely played throughout the Northern Territory and is a very popular sport, make no mistake about that. But we do support all sports. From time to time we generously support one sport over another in order to provide a major input to their facilities such as the $300 000 for courts in Katherine. It is just arrant nonsense for the Leader of the Opposition to say funds allocated to netball do not match the funds that go to other sports. The funding of netball is about the third-highest. It comes in behind Aussie rules and motor sports. This is just another splitting of hairs, fact over fiction.
Ms Martin: I will proudly lobby for netball.
Mr LUGG: Then why don’t you start? I think it is probably worth calling for a swab here. It would be nice if the Opposition Leader did start lobbying for sport in an area where she says she does, but the fact is she has not. It is another brick in the wall of deceit, another brick in the wall of untruths. Some people might even use the word ‘lies’.
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Mr Speaker! He cannot accuse the opposition …
Mr SPEAKER: You are right. The minister should withdraw that last comment.
Mr LUGG: I withdraw. It is just another brick in the wall. She is used to media grabs. That is all she functions on. She throws these things away at the drop of a hat. The facts are almost always at odds with what she says. She is uninformed. She is not serving Territorians well. If there was one job vacancy I would like to see, it is hers.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I know the member for Greatorex is interested in netball and sport generally. The Northern Territory government has generously assisted sport for a number of years. We do it basically in a couple of ways: we assist clubs and groups throughout the Territory to run their affairs with grants for administration and we also do it by building major facilities.
The Northern Territory Netball Association received funding of $76 000 in 1998-99 and $81 000 in 1999-2000 through recreation grants for administration of netball. During 1997-98, facility funding of $285 000 was provided to the Katherine Netball Association to construct courts and $300 000 was provided to the Palmerston Netball Association to relocate to Archer Reserve. In addition, a grant of $13 000 was made available through the Northern Territory peak body to upgrade seating at Parap netball courts.
When you look at some of the things the Opposition Leader says - and she is becoming well known for this throughout the Territory, if not throughout Hobart – it is interesting that she just grabs off the media and makes bland statements which really have no factual basis. She is on record as saying she lobbies strongly for netball. I can tell you I have never received any approaches from her to support netball. My colleague to the right of me, the previous Minister for Sport, never had any approach either. The only approach he can remember, the only correspondence received in relation to netball in the time of the previous minister, was when the member for Arafura shifted into overdrive and actually managed to get something done. He dashed off a letter to my colleague, but there has been no letter received from the Leader of the Opposition.
She is also on record as saying it has the highest per capita playing of any sport in the Territory. I am not sure what that means. It probably has something to do with participation rates. Netball is in fact about the seventh or eighth-highest in participation rates. At the top of the list is Australian rules. Next comes rugby union. Then we go through hockey, rugby league, golf, basketball, soccer and touch football, and in behind comes netball.
Netball is widely played throughout the Northern Territory and is a very popular sport, make no mistake about that. But we do support all sports. From time to time we generously support one sport over another in order to provide a major input to their facilities such as the $300 000 for courts in Katherine. It is just arrant nonsense for the Leader of the Opposition to say funds allocated to netball do not match the funds that go to other sports. The funding of netball is about the third-highest. It comes in behind Aussie rules and motor sports. This is just another splitting of hairs, fact over fiction.
Ms Martin: I will proudly lobby for netball.
Mr LUGG: Then why don’t you start? I think it is probably worth calling for a swab here. It would be nice if the Opposition Leader did start lobbying for sport in an area where she says she does, but the fact is she has not. It is another brick in the wall of deceit, another brick in the wall of untruths. Some people might even use the word ‘lies’.
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Mr Speaker! He cannot accuse the opposition …
Mr SPEAKER: You are right. The minister should withdraw that last comment.
Mr LUGG: I withdraw. It is just another brick in the wall. She is used to media grabs. That is all she functions on. She throws these things away at the drop of a hat. The facts are almost always at odds with what she says. She is uninformed. She is not serving Territorians well. If there was one job vacancy I would like to see, it is hers.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016