Minister Wells unable to explain impact on community sport

Today in question time the Minister for Sport was given the opportunity to explain how the

Budget impacts grass roots sporting clubs but was deliberately blocked from answering

because she was unable to explain the Government’s own policy.

The Shadow Minister for Sport, Angie Bell, asked a question directly to the Minister for

Sport, Anika Wells, on how more than 70,000 community sporting clubs, many of which rely

on donations from trusts, will be impacted by Labor’s minimum 30% tax on trusts.

Just as the Minister for Sport appeared unable to answer, the Leader of the House rushed to

intervene, deploying a familiar tactic to steer the question away from the responsible Minister

and towards the Treasurer.

Why? Because the Minister for Sport was not across her brief to explain how Labor’s Budget

would affect the sporting sector.

Instead, the Treasurer, who typically spends several minutes defending Government policy,

offered a mild 30 second attempt, saying “final implementation details are subject to the

usual kind of consultation”.

This comes after Labor have removed more than $182 million in funding for the sports

budget, including limiting federal funding for only the next 12 months.

Shadow Minister for Sport, Angie Bell MP, said the Government’s failure to provide answers

would leave community sporting organisations deeply concerned.

“If the Minister for Sport cannot explain how Labor’s own Budget affects grassroots

organisations, how can local clubs have confidence that the Government understands the

consequences of its decisions?” Ms Bell said.

“Labor has already cut funding for grassroots sport, and now clubs are being left in the dark

about the impact of higher taxes.”