Rise and shine for kids’ sport revival We can never take organised sports for granted again as kids throughout the Territory get back to the games they love
THE weekend sleep-ins are over for most parents this weekend.
That’s right, the early mornings cheering on sons and daughters on sporting fields, courts and arenas are back.
Junior sport was one of the first activities cut when the coronavirus pandemic hit leaving cricket pitches, football and hockey fields, netball courts and dance studios empty.
Active kids were left with no organised outlet.
Organised sport is one of many things we’ll never take for granted again … children and adults alike.
We’ll appreciate the early mornings, volunteers, umpires, coaches and teachers who provide such an important opportunity for kids, whether they’re aspiring athletes or enjoy the socialising as much as the activity.
We’ll also not take the Territory’s sporting facilities for granted, from the local pool to the $18 million Darwin Netball Stadium, $16.7 million Marrara Tennis Centre and $25.3 million Territory Rugby League Stadium.
In the NT, 54 per cent of children aged 5-14 years participate in at least one sport outside of school hours that have been organised by a school, club or association (source: ABS Survey of Children’s Participation in Culture and Leisure Activities, Australia, 2012).
This is not bad considering the Australian average for kids the same age is 60 per cent.
The ABS stats also indicate that the three most popular organised sports for boys are outdoor soccer, swimming or diving and Aussie rules with participation rates of 22 per cent, 16 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
For girls, swimming or diving and netball dominated at 19 per cent and 16 per cent.
The NT has 3493 registered netballers spread across associations in Darwin (1295), Alice Springs (983), Palmerston (710), Katherine (307), Gove (132) and Netball Northern Territory (66).
Chief Minister Michael Gunner used netball to launch the restart of community sport revealing it had been 20 years since he’d donned a GA bib in a mixed netball competition.
We’ll appreciate the early mornings, volunteers, umpires, coaches
about Canberra control – and for good reason. There is a historical context to where we are right now. In 1918, resentment among Territorians gave rise to the Darwin Rebellion, when around 1000 demonstrators marched on Government House protesting employment, taxation and political representation.
The outcome was an NT member of the House — but with no full voting rights until 1968. Despite the Self-Government Act of 1978, we are ultimately subject to Commonwealth control.
We must legislate to guarantee the two seats we have. Otherwise, our NT representation will always be at the mercy of ABS statistics. And populations fluctuate. Projections put the Territory’s population at 251,727 by 2021,
Mr Gunner also revealed that of the 3000 organisations to submit a COVID-19 plan, 700 were sporting organisations.
Aussie rules also continues to be a top choice for Territorians, with more than 60,000 people, or almost a quarter of the Territory’s population, involved in the game in 2017.
This figure is the most percapita of any state or territory.
A breakdown of the data taking it over the threshold of eligibility for two seats. If these projections are correct and a redistribution this year results in the loss of a seat, one seat would not be reflective of the population at the time of the next election.
A single electorate would mean one person dividing their time between communities as diverse as Darwin, Wadeye, the Cocos Islands, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, and Arnhem Land – places of enormous historical, cultural and environmental significance.
A single electorate would not recognise the NT’s strategic and economic importance to Australia.
The port of Darwin is integral to our nation’s defence, biosecurity and border security; it is the gateway for trade with the rest of the world.
In my First Speech in the Senate almost four years ago, I called for a serious vision for the north that would encompass the NT’s development as a state. In my previous role in the NT Assembly as Minister for Statehood I championed statehood.
My NT colleagues, Warren and Luke, are fierce advocates for the Territory, as are Sam and I and we have been working tirelessly to make the case for two seats, along with Michael Gunner.
We may have been surrendered by South Australia to the Commonwealth in 1908, but that doesn’t mean we should remain a people under surrender.