Ms Patten (Northern Metropolitan) — I was lucky enough last week to speak at my favourite football club, the Fitzroy Football Club. I was joined by the Minister for Emergency Services, Ms Garrett, and federal Senator Scott Ryan, and the event was organised by the Age’s Richard Willingham. We spoke about women in football. On that same weekend I was lucky enough to see the brilliant game between the Demons and the Bulldogs on television, which was quite remarkable to see for the first time since women have been playing AFL football. It has been 100 years since the game was founded, and we have just had our first women’s football game on television. We spoke about the need for more women in sport, and I was very proud that the Fitzroy Football Club has a female president and that half of its board members are female. We were joined on the day by a number of female football players, including Lauren Arnell, who has been quite a champion for women in sport.
The event really showed the need for more women in sport but also the need for more community sport. I have been a beneficiary of community sport over the years, as has my family. The way in which it brings together families and community enables you to link up with your community. My family moved around the country and around the world, and community sport was the one way that we could really link into our communities and make friends. That applied across our family, whether we children were playing or our parents were. Community sport is sometimes the unsung hero. It is linked to reductions in illness, it is linked to lower absenteeism in schools and it is linked to better results in schools, and we really need to recognise the heroes of community sport. I for one will be supporting community sport.
