Thursday, 18 May 2023

Southern Metropolitan Regional all-abilities sport

John BERGER (Southern Metropolitan) (15:38): (231) My adjournment tonight is for the Minister for Community Sport in the other place, Minister Spence. In making this adjournment I pay tribute to the work that community sports do in local communities right across Victoria.

I recently attended a dinner with Blind Sports and Recreation Victoria, where I had the chance to meet with some amazing individuals supporting our blind and low-vision communities in Australia. Meeting these people who have faced incredible challenges throughout their lives and continue to fight to overcome them was quite emotional.

The Victorian Blind Cricket Association has been around for over 100 years and provides an opportunity for the visually impaired to participate in community sports. Blind cricket was invented here in Melbourne in the 1920s and has been played ever since. Blind cricket is a sport which can be played by partially blind people as well as fully blind people, allowing engagement with the community in a way that would not be available otherwise.

Community is important for the visually impaired. To be able to participate in their community is to be able to develop skills which will carry them for the rest of their lives. I was pleased to accept the invitation for me and my staff to play blind cricket, and I am excited to take up that offer soon. The truth is that communities right across our state are built around these clubs. My own election night celebration was held at the Mount Waverley Reserve in my community of Southern Metro, the home of the mighty Waverley Blues footy club, the cricket club and the tennis club. I know, as a former president of a local football club, the Broadford Football Netball Club from 2005 to 2007 in the Heathcote and district football league in northern regional Victoria, how important these clubs are to the community. They bring the youth into sport, both male and female, and bring the community together as a whole to support the town, both financially and in a community sense. They provide an economic benefit when away sides visit the town and bring a sense of pride to a community.

So tonight I commend the work done by the Blind Sports and Recreation organisation. Their work is incredibly valuable and should be supported in every way possible. These people give up their time to ensure people can play sports. These opportunities can be truly life changing for an individual. So my question for the Minister for Community Sport is: what work is the Andrews Labor government doing to provide an opportunity for community members to enjoy all-abilities sports in my community of Southern Metro?