The Palaszczuk Government is investing $15 million for 45 projects across Queensland to encourage more women and girls into sports and recreation activities, to lead and maintain a healthy and productive lifestyle.
Minister for Sport Mick de Brenni said Sport Australia’s Ausplay survey released earlier this week essentially showed Australian women and girls what they already know.
“Women and girls across Australia are missing out on the chance to play sport, with only about one third of women in Australia being able to meet Commonwealth physical health guidelines – that’s simply unacceptable,” Mr de Brenni said.
“The biggest barrier for women and girls playing sport is the ability to pay for it – and this comes down to the Morrison Government’s relentless agenda to cut wages for the lowest of income earners.
“In this nation, finding the money to pay for your daughter to play sport just gets harder and harder under this Coalition government.
“In Queensland we are creating more jobs, apprenticeships, investing in Back to Work, focusing on gender equity on boards and investing more into vouchers for low income families.
“In contrast, the current Prime Minister has presided over the lowest wages growth in a generation, affecting mostly Australian women who are more likely to work casualised hours – whether in hospitality, retail, or as early childhood educators.
“Working people on minimum rates are 30% less likely to play sport than the wealthy and Sport Australia’s data shows that if you’re a girl you’re even less likely to play sport at only 42%.
“With 1.7 million Australian women earning under $40,000, Scott Morrison has done nothing to help working people, instead he voted eight times to cut penalty rates, that disproportionately affects women.
“Delivering stagnant wages, cutting penalty rates and forcing women to work longer and longer hours means parents simply can’t make ends meet to even afford to pay for their girls to play sport.
“The Palaszczuk Government doesn’t push sport way down the list of priorities for women struggling to make ends meet. We want all Queensland women and girls to aspire to be the next Ash Barty, the next Ali Brigginshaw or Claire Polkinghorne.
“Only a Shorten Labor Government will give Australian women across the country a fair go when it comes to sport.
“This current Prime Minister doesn’t have a clue what makes working families tick – no matter how much time he spends on the court or the footy field, he is still the most unauthentic sportsman since John Howard.
“Hopefully he won’t be captain of Team Australia for much longer.”
