Mr KIELY - 2007-06-19
Territorians enjoy a great sporting lifestyle. AFL is one of our most popular sporting codes. Can you please update the House on last weekend’s Western Bulldogs home game, and the recent exploits of the Tiwi Bombers at the MCG?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. I agree with you. Cricket is also a great sport, soccer and many others, and the Territory is now becoming the sporting capital of Australia.
We have had the Arafura Games, we have had the Emerging Nations cricket competition, we have the New Zealand cricket team coming for training in Darwin, and we the competition between the women’s teams, Australia and New Zealand, not to mention the V8s. It is going to be a very interesting and very busy Dry Season.
Of course, the weekend’s AFL match was no exception. What a thriller! There was a tremendous home crowd; 14 000 people at Marrara Stadium, and many more around Australia because Foxtel broadcast the game live. My father-in-law rang and said he saw the game in Perth, freezing, and he wished he was in Darwin wearing short sleeves or nearly nothing running across the oval. The game was great. The Western Bulldogs played an excellent game against the Dockers and won a great victory that will take them into the top eight on the AFL ladder.
The Darwin Doggies are our home team, and many people claim that, as an ex-Western Australian, I would be supporting the Dockers. That reality is that I joined the Western Bulldogs club. I support them, and I believe I am the third minister for Sport – Jack Ah Kit was the first, the member for Karama was the second and I am the third. We are supporting the Doggies. Of course we support them; they bring so many people and so much money to the Territory. We will support anyone who does that. I believe every Territorian should experience a live AFL game.
While I am on AFL, I would like to speak about a local team, the Tiwi Bombers. I was very proud, together with my colleague, the member for Arafura, to provide some financial support for the Tiwi Bombers to travel to Melbourne to play at the G. The match was on 26 May against Rumbalara, a local indigenous team in Victoria. The game was the curtain raiser event to the Dreamtime at the G main game between the Richmond Tigers and Essendon Bombers. It was a great game. The Tiwi Bombers bombed the opposition 188 points to 52. The crowd was very, very impressed with their skills.
It was a great game, which recognised the significant contribution of indigenous athletes to AFL. Many people were impressed. As the AFL website says: the Tiwi Islanders are born to play this game. That is a significant quote for our local people. It is important not only that we have a local team going to Melbourne, but we have local kids from Tiwi who have become role models for the young people in Tiwi, which is very important.
We talk about alcohol and drugs, and the bad influence of television and other things on young people, and here we have a very good example of a group of homegrown young people becoming role models for the young people of the Tiwi Islands. I am very pleased and proud to have supported them. I will continue to support them.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. I agree with you. Cricket is also a great sport, soccer and many others, and the Territory is now becoming the sporting capital of Australia.
We have had the Arafura Games, we have had the Emerging Nations cricket competition, we have the New Zealand cricket team coming for training in Darwin, and we the competition between the women’s teams, Australia and New Zealand, not to mention the V8s. It is going to be a very interesting and very busy Dry Season.
Of course, the weekend’s AFL match was no exception. What a thriller! There was a tremendous home crowd; 14 000 people at Marrara Stadium, and many more around Australia because Foxtel broadcast the game live. My father-in-law rang and said he saw the game in Perth, freezing, and he wished he was in Darwin wearing short sleeves or nearly nothing running across the oval. The game was great. The Western Bulldogs played an excellent game against the Dockers and won a great victory that will take them into the top eight on the AFL ladder.
The Darwin Doggies are our home team, and many people claim that, as an ex-Western Australian, I would be supporting the Dockers. That reality is that I joined the Western Bulldogs club. I support them, and I believe I am the third minister for Sport – Jack Ah Kit was the first, the member for Karama was the second and I am the third. We are supporting the Doggies. Of course we support them; they bring so many people and so much money to the Territory. We will support anyone who does that. I believe every Territorian should experience a live AFL game.
While I am on AFL, I would like to speak about a local team, the Tiwi Bombers. I was very proud, together with my colleague, the member for Arafura, to provide some financial support for the Tiwi Bombers to travel to Melbourne to play at the G. The match was on 26 May against Rumbalara, a local indigenous team in Victoria. The game was the curtain raiser event to the Dreamtime at the G main game between the Richmond Tigers and Essendon Bombers. It was a great game. The Tiwi Bombers bombed the opposition 188 points to 52. The crowd was very, very impressed with their skills.
It was a great game, which recognised the significant contribution of indigenous athletes to AFL. Many people were impressed. As the AFL website says: the Tiwi Islanders are born to play this game. That is a significant quote for our local people. It is important not only that we have a local team going to Melbourne, but we have local kids from Tiwi who have become role models for the young people in Tiwi, which is very important.
We talk about alcohol and drugs, and the bad influence of television and other things on young people, and here we have a very good example of a group of homegrown young people becoming role models for the young people of the Tiwi Islands. I am very pleased and proud to have supported them. I will continue to support them.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016