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Sports Minister responds to critics of Olympic funding

Posted on by Vaseline

The minister spent a week in Paris, where she watched Australian Olympians win gold. But she says the federal government cannot fund “every good idea” in sport during a cost-of-living crisis.

Ms Wells, who spent almost a week in Paris before flying back to Australia on Sunday (French time), also called on sports including swimming to hire more female coaches and claimed the government was righting a “wrong” by doubling funding for the Paralympic Games.

The minister, who also holds a vice-chair role on the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games board, said she “felt like an expectant mother” eight years before the Queensland Games, and that Brisbane should take advantage of its “once-in-a-century opportunity”.

“The eyes of the world will be on us and now that we are here in Paris and have seen the opening ceremony with our own eyes, these kinds of settings give us the opportunity to show how we can be a world-class city and how people can come here and have a great time.”

The minister also wants to introduce quotas for the number of women on the boards of national sports organisations (NSOs).

Federal Minister of Sport Anika Wells (back) at the Olympic Games in Paris.

When asked if she was disappointed that sports like swimming have so few female coaches (there are no women in Paris for the pool events), Ms Wells said: “Absolutely. All credit to them for delivering on day one (when they won two gold medals), but there are no female coaches and anyone will tell you that from the under 9s at Chirnside to the Dolphins, coaches make the difference.

“And we need more female coaches.”

Ms Wells has been criticised by Olympic governing body executives for failing to find enough money, particularly the Albanian government, which has earmarked $240 million for the construction of an AFL stadium in Hobart and the possibility of $600 million for a future NRL team in Papua New Guinea.

A NSO chairman recently described the financial situation for the sport as the worst in 30 years. The Australian Olympic Committee has also said that the sport sector risks falling short of the country’s expectations if $2 billion in funding is not provided within 10 years.

“Everyone in sports has really good ideas about where they spend their money, but we try to be deliberate and strategic about it,” Wells said.

The government recently announced a new $283 million funding package for elite sport, putting $250 million into the AIS and doubling the amount spent on the Paralympic Games.