Zoe McKenzie (Flinders, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to share a speech prepared for the Raise Our Voice competition by Lachie, aged 12, a Woodleigh Penbank student in my seat of Flinders. He said:

I'm concerned about the high price of playing junior sports. Because of these costs, many kids stay inside and spend time on their phones or computers, which negatively impacts their mental health.

When I return to Somers at the age of 21, I want to see kids playing a sport outside with their friends and family.

The way that the State and Federal Governments can help is by increasing grants for junior sports. Currently, grants are limited to $200 and hard to get, but the average cost of playing a sport for one season is $1500.

Increasing these grants would help reduce the 40 per cent of Australian kids who don't participate in sports.

Additionally, councils need to make sports teams more welcoming. Currently, 75 per cent of people with disabilities, who want to pay play sports, don't, because they feel they have limited opportunities.

The government should encourage the youth of Australia to be active.

It will cost the government less in the end, when those kids grow up healthy.

On that topic I want to share a great message that I received from young Mieke Kelly of Somerville Primary School, who I met last week at her school with her principal and who wrote in a couple of days ago. She said:

I believe that we should ban vaping and smoking for good.

It is unhealthy for the people who are doing it and those around them.

I have encountered people who smoke and vape, and had to breath in the smoke.

If we want kids to grow up healthy, we need to stop it.

Thank you, Mieke, for writing in and for meeting with me last week.

See this speech in context