Greens MLA Johnathan Davis, spokesperson for Sport and Recreation, has said the ACT Government is failing community sport in the ACT.
In April 2021, Mr Davis secured tri-partisan support for a suite of policy commitments relating to community sport in the ACT, including a long-term strategic plan and a detailed facilities management plan. In April 2022, the ACT Government provided an update on some of the work completed to date. In Estimates today, Mr Davis asked for an update on this yet uncompleted work – the Canberra community is still waiting for outcomes.
“We’re 18 months down the track, and we haven’t seen progress,” he said. “No strategic plan, no facilities management plan – nothing.”
Mr Davis’s 2021 motion called on the ACT Government to:
- Recognize a sport and recreation industry peak body. (The ACT last had a sports sector peak body in 2015, when the former ACTSPORT ceased operating.) In April 2022, the government stated that it was not its role to fund a member-based sector advocacy group, but it was in discussions with the Coalition of Major Participation Sports.
- Develop a long-term strategic plan for sport and recreation in the ACT, to replace the ‘Active 2020’ plan that expires at the end of last year. In April 2022, the government stated that a consultant was appointed in late 2021 to lead this work; consultation had begun, with a completion timeframe for mid-year.
- Develop a facilities management plan to care for existing facilities and meet community needs with new facilities. In April 2022, the government acknowledged aging community sporting infrastructure required maintenance, upgrade, or replacement; an infrastructure ‘Road Map’ identified a project portfolio of $167 million sporting infrastructure projects it intended to pursue during this term of government. The Roadmap did not include the annual investment required to maintain ACT-owned sport and recreation assets.
- Climate-proof our sport and recreation facilities with a particular focus on heat and smoke. In April 2022, the government’s coming strategic plan would address this issue; much had already been done to make Canberra sport climate change ready, as a 2019 Federal report showed.
- Tackle barriers to participation in sport for disadvantaged Canberrans. In April 2022, the government noted it had engaged ORIMA to research participation barriers for lower socioeconomic households; this would inform strategic planning.
Mr Davis called today on the ACT Government to honor its commitment to the Assembly and finalize then release a long-term strategic plan and a detailed facilities management plan as soon as possible.
“While I always welcome the ACT Government making investments in community sport, I grow increasingly concerned that millions of dollars are being invested in an ad-hoc fashion based on how well some community sports organizations lobby – not on where funding is most needed.
“Community sporting organizations shouldn’t have to come cap in hand to the Government, actively competing for a finite amount of funding. Instead, the Government should aspire to a transparent and accountable process for funding, complemented by long term planning developed in deep consultation with community sport.
“All government funding should be allocated as a result of transparent and accountable processes, and it is concerning that this is not the case for our sporting facilities.”