Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Female participation in sport has grown exponentially in Australia over the past decade, with hundreds of thousands of young girls and women from across south-west Sydney and the wider Australia having joined their local sporting clubs across varying sporting codes. One sport in particular, netball, continues to grow and is the biggest team sport for women and girls in Australia. I'm a huge netball fan and I love watching my wife, my daughters and now my granddaughters play netball, and I proudly support family members when they play for their local teams.

As a medical professional I'm always in favour of people finding ways and means to remain socially and physically active. That's why I'm a proud supporter of Netball Australia's mission to get netball into the Brisbane Olympic Games in 2032. I believe it's time to stop pivoting and for netball to be included in the Brisbane Olympics. It's time that the Australian Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee recognise the Australian passion that is netball, and, to help promote local clubs and competitions, netball deserves its place among the world's greatest sports at the Brisbane 2032 Games.

We've seen new sports being added to the Olympic Games in the past. The additions have helped promote those sports to new audiences around the world, so Brisbane 2032 is the perfect opportunity to show the world our passion and skill for this wonderful game. I encourage anyone who shares my passion to head to the Netball Australia website and sign their petition. Together we can help promote and support Australian athletes.