The New Zealand Herald

Govt cash splash to help keep sport alive

- Amelia Wade

The sports industry has been thrown a $265 million lifeline to help it survive the fallout from the Covid-19 crisis.

The focus of the package is to help the sector survive the initial impact, which saw every sport cancelled and funding dry up, rebuild with new models and more collaborat­ion and modernise to survive into the future.

In a post-Budget announceme­nt yesterday, Sports Minister Grant Robertson said the package would support sports at all levels to “remain viable, get stronger and adapt”.

The sports and recreation sector contribute­d about $5 billion a year to New Zealand’s GDP and employed more than 53,000 people, Robertson said.

The $265m package over the next four years will be broken into:

● $83m in short-term support to help sport and recreation organisati­ons at all levels get through the initial impact of Covid-19.

● $104m to help the sector rebuild in the medium term. This includes helping national and regional organisati­ons make changes to operate successful­ly and support new operating models and more collaborat­ion.

● $78m to modernise the sector by finding innovative ways of delivering play, active recreation and sport by using new technology and research.

Robertson said Covid-19 meant much of the sector’s funding had dried up and put sports under “immense strain”, particular­ly at a community level.

Profession­al sports and athletes weren’t immune to the fallout. Competitio­ns across the board had been cancelled or postponed because of social distancing restrictio­ns and closed borders.

At a hearing of the Epidemic Response Committee this month, various sports bodies expressed concern that women’s leagues and community sport would be the first to go.

Netball NZ chief executive Jennie Wyllie said the rebuild provided the opportunit­y to address the “systemic underinves­tment” worth hundreds of millions of dollars in women’s sport and reset the funding model that depends on gambling proceeds.

“New Zealand should not squander this chance to address the systemic inequities across sport,” Wyllie said.

Robertson yesterday said funding would be provided across all three focus areas to support women’s sport and groups under-represente­d in sport, such as people with disabiliti­es, Ma¯ori and those from low socioecono­mic groups.

Sport New Zealand and High Performanc­e Sport New Zealand would work closely with sport organisati­ons and profession­al teams and clubs to ensure the new funding was allocated “fairly and appropriat­ely across the system”, Robertson said.

“This funding will get sports from community clubs to elite level athletes back up and running.”

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