Thursday, 10 September 2026

 Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (10:02): Australia is a sport-loving nation, but something is clearly very wrong when our teenagers are amongst the most sedentary in the world. In what may come as a shock to most people, Australia was ranked 140 out of 146 countries for teen physical activity in a world-first study that was published in the Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. The study found that only one in 10 adolescents participate in at least 1 hour of daily physical activity, as recommended by the World Health Organization. This Andrews–Allan–Carroll Labor government wasted hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers money to not hold the Commonwealth Games this year, but instead of throwing money overseas, our hard-earned, tax-supported money could have been spent on community team sport programs to incentivise our teens to get moving. Crime is rampant in this state, with older teenagers increasingly recruiting their younger peers to commit carjackings, home invasions and robberies, knowing they will not face any serious consequences. The majority of carjackings and home invasions in Victoria last year were carried out by offenders under the age of 18, according to the latest crime statistics. I want to acknowledge a number of organisations that are trying to do a lot with youth in sport. One of course is Red Roo Basketball, which has helped over 50 players sign scholarships to play basketball at university level in the United States. Another is NextGen Unite, a not-for-profit – (Time expired)