Netball Australia today welcomed a $30 million Coalition commitment to fund numerous initiatives – from grassroots through to high performance – which aim to secure a strong and long-term future for the sport.
If the Morrison Government is re-elected, the $30 million commitment will be the largest single investment in Australian netball by a Federal Government.
The leading initiative funded by a re-elected Coalition Government will be the ‘Play Netball’ participation strategy aimed at enhancing participation at a grassroots level through a range of products and programs that can be localised to netball communities across each state and territory.
A re-elected Morrison Government will also support Netball Australia’s bid for the 2027 Netball World Cup, an event that will once again showcase Australia, and its capability to host major international sporting events, to the world and one that coincides with the 100th anniversary of Netball Australia.
Support for further international engagement will also be implemented under the re-elected Morrison Government’s partnership with Netball Australia, using netball to bolster bilateral and multilateral relationships and pursue new linkages in Asia with countries such as China and India.
The re-elected Morrison Government will also recognise the emerging infrastructure needs of Netball Australia by providing funding to deliver the first ever International Leadership Hub for Netball in Melbourne.
The Hub will further enhance Australia’s reputation as a global provider of education in sport and focus on enhancing netball participation, high performance, sports science, governance, management and leadership opportunities.
Netball Australia CEO Marne Fechner has welcomed the announcement that a re-elected Morrison Government would continue its commitment to netball and is excited by the opportunities the funding would present.
“Netball has long been the leading team sport for girls and women throughout Australia with more than one million participants nationwide, which includes as a thriving presence in regional communities,” she said.
“An investment such as this would advance netball at all levels, from grassroots participation through to our elite Samsung Diamonds and Suncorp Super Netball.”
The announcement was made by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Sport Minister Bridget McKenzie today at Whitehorse Netball, alongside Chair Paolina Hunt, former Australian Diamond Madi Browne, Netball Australia CEO Marne Fechner and Deputy CEO Nadine Cohen.
