Grassroots sport will miss out under Labor with independent Parliament Budget Office (PBO) costings revealing savage cuts of $71.1 million from programs supporting local sport infrastructure and programs promoting female participation.
Minister for Sport Alister Henskens said if elected, Labor will make a number of cruel cuts to grassroots community sport.
“Chris Minns needs to explain why he’s cutting funding from grassroots sport in NSW,” Mr Henskens said.
“The Liberals and Nationals Government has invested over $614 million since 2018 to improve facilities and boost participation for women and girls in sport, but Labor has made clear that is not a priority for them.
“Under Labor, grassroots sport will be starved of investment, and it will be our booming women’s sport sector that will be the hardest hit.
“Sporting clubs and organisations should be concerned about what is revealed in Labor’s PBO costings and this is another example of why Labor is a risk to NSW.
“Labor has also made clear they will raid WestInvest to fund other projects – Chris Minns needs to come clean about which already-announced sports projects in Western Sydney will be axed if he becomes Premier.
“After they scrap projects in Western Sydney, Labor will find more ways to bin participation programs and facility upgrades across the State, hurting our local communities and their love for sport.
“The Liberal and Nationals Government has a long-term economic plan to keep NSW moving forward, and these short-sighted cuts to community sport prove that our State will stall under Labor.”
Since 2017, the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government has invested more than $2 billion in grassroots community sport, through infrastructure grant programs and the nation-leading Active Kids voucher program.