Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is one thing coming up in Western Australia that is dividing us—the Senate election—but there is another thing in Western Australia that does unite us, and that is sport. We have just heard an amazing speech from the member for Perth, which we could refer to as 'Alannah in Wonderland', talking about the NBN. Both the member for Perth and I attended a community cricket match on the weekend, so it was good to see that we were united in that area.

The Western Australian Football League kicked off on the weekend. As I am the patron of the Perth Football Club, which is in my electorate, I thought I would attend their first game. I must admit that Perth have been rather starved of success over the last 20 or 30 years, but it is great to announce that Perth Football Club are on top of the ladder. It is the first time they have been on top of the ladder after round one since 2002, so they have broken a 12-year drought. Some were saying that we should call the season to an end right now. I saw the member for Fremantle make a contribution earlier, and the Fremantle Football Club are on top of the AFL ladder, with West Coast Eagles close behind them in second position. Good luck to all the Western Australian football clubs in the AFL and to all the West Australian Football League clubs who are feeders to the AFL. If there are any members in the House who want to join the Parliamentary Friends of the AFL, contact me or Richard Marles.