The Coalition welcomes the funding announced for Australia’s national sporting organisations, who had been left in complete uncertainty by the Albanese Government as funding ran dry.
With direct government funding for the NSOs due to run out today, this announcement could not have been more last-minute.
The Government had failed to provide this critical funding through the recent Budget process, leaving the Australian Sports Commission forced to find the money to prop up our sporting organisations in their absence.
We welcome the fact that the Albanese Government has now finally provided funding for our elite athletes as they prepare to head to Paris, but once again they are misleading the public.
Shadow Minister for Sport, Senator Anne Ruston called the Government out for their completely disingenuous announcement of almost $500 million, when we know most of the funding is not new money and is not going directly to programs for our Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
“It is great to see the Government has listened to our calls to provide critical funding certainty for our athletes as they get ready to don the green and gold in Paris.
“But it is outrageous that the Prime Minister and the Minister for Sport have falsely inflated their funding package, possibly by more than 300%.
“First, the Government was clearly delaying this announcement for the perfect photo opportunity, instead of prioritising the best interests of our high-performance athletes who are about to represent our country on the world stage.
“Now, they are being completely misleading about the level of additional support they are providing for Australian sports.”
The Coalition stands by our athletes, who we know will make our country proud as they compete on the world stage and inspire the next generation to get out there and get active.
ENDS
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