It is time that we get an honest assessment of the state of play when it comes to sporting infrastructure in the ACT.
Participation in community sport is about living a healthy life, both physically and mentally.
It teaches us the importance of hard work and training. To try your hardest and be your best. But it is also about team-work and sportsmanship. That you don’t win every game, but you always shake hands afterwards. It builds community and social cohesion.
Canberra has the highest rate of participation in the country with 77% of adults participating in a form of sport or recreational activity at least once a week.
These are numbers which the ACT can and should be proud of. A good local government should do everything in its power to enable Canberrans to participate in the activities they love to do.
Unfortunately, 25 years of ACT Labor Government has left the sporting community limited in the opportunities it can provide. Those close to the issue would describe it as a ‘shortage crisis’ of sports facilities.
Sporting clubs I have spoken to over the last decade have told me that they are at capacity and are having to turn away players who want to join. The willingness from the community to increase the number of players is there, so what have the Government done?
Labor have allowed population growth in the ACT to rapidly outstrip the development of new facilities. The population of Canberra has grown by 58,000 since 2020 and yet in that time no new playing fields have been built in the Territory. Even when new facilities are announced they are rarely delivered on time or on budget. Just have a look at the promised Canberra Sports Stadium, Throsby ‘Home of Football,’ or Ice Sports Facility in Greenway.
All of this has put increased strain on existing facilities and emphasised existing gaps in our network. The Kingston Oval, a premier cricket ground in the 1980’s is now being described as unsafe to play on by users. Canberra’s newest districts have been almost completely left behind. Gungahlin has 1 playing field for every 2,436. A depressingly low number compared to neighbouring Belconnen with 1 playing field for every 1,656 leaving them with a 33% higher chance to find a playing field. Though Gungahlin is still in a better position than the Molonglo Valley which has no sporting fields for its 18,000 residents.
A solution which has presented to the Government multiple times by the sporting community is a 10-year sporting facilities plan. This would provide certainty to clubs who are wanting to bring on new members that there will be a place for them and ease the pressure on existing facilities.
Minister for Sport and Recreation, Yvette Berry MLA, has stated in the past that even though a sports plan would be nice to have, the problem would be the “decisions of future Governments to funding, and managing the expectations of the community.”
This is a bizarre sentiment from a government which has no problem signing up to a costly light rail commitment to be delivered over 15 or more years.
The Canberra Liberals by contrast agree with local communities that the best way to solve the current crisis is the development of a long-term sports infrastructure plan.
On Wednesday the 4th of February, I took the first step in delivering this plan by calling on the Government to conduct an independent Sports Infrastructure Audit.
This audit will be conducted by an independent third party and will assess Canberra’s capability to host local, national and international sporting events. It will also require whoever undertakes the audit to provide recommendations to the Assembly on how to fill existing gaps in infrastructure.
The motion was unanimously passed by the Assembly with the Labor Government reluctantly voting for the motion after the timeline for delivery was extended.
I have subsequently reached out to the Minister’s office to provide assistance on the development of the audit. I asked the Minister about:
- How the terms of reference will be determined,
- An indicative timeline of the audit, and
- What pathways will be available for community involvement.
I hope to hear back from the Minister soon and will keep you all posted.
In the meantime, if you believe there is a specific facility of concern, please don’t hesitate to contact my office at: james.milligan@parliament.act.gov.au