Thursday, 5 October 2023

 Lauren KATHAGE (Yan Yean) (10:02): Thirty-seven teams, 73 games and over 90 volunteers made the all-girls cup hosted by the Doreen United Soccer Club possible. This brought together people who are enthusiastic about encouraging women in sport, and it was such a thumping success, not just for my community but for all the communities who had teams travel to participate. I was reminded of this fabulous event yesterday at the This Girl Can launch held here – and thank you to Minister Mary-Anne Thomas for providing what is a fabulous opportunity for women to reflect on what makes them feel good about physical activity and to make sure that they get out and do that more.

The Doreen United Soccer Club is an excellent example of promoting women in sport, so I thank Chris, Fab, Callum, Joe, Joanne and the whole team there for what they do for our community. We are backing our individual efforts with broader support through the Local Sports Infrastructure Fund, which prioritises making sure that women and girls have the opportunity to play in world-class facilities that are made for them so that they can feel comfortable and safe participating in what is a really important part of life. I thank the Minister for Community Sport Ros Spence for her efforts in that.