The federal government has been warned that Australian sport is about to go backwards during its most critical decade, and it will cost us gold medals.
Unless it receives a $2 billion injection, Australian sport is in danger of failing the nation's expectations during the green and gold decade, according to Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) chief executive Matt Carroll.
Speaking at the National Press Club, Carroll's message was aimed at the federal government, but came with assurances that sport must also be accountable if it was the beneficiary of a $200 million-a-year investment building towards Brisbane 2032.
"Unless this situation is rectified, Australia will be staring failure in the face at the 2026 Commonwealth Games and the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games because our home team will have been undermined by inaction," Carroll said.
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"Based on the federal government's forward estimates, there is a $2 billion shortfall in direct investment in Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games sports in the 10 years leading to Brisbane 2032.
"So, what governments in Australia want sport to achieve for the community is not going to happen."
In a detailed strategy outlining a new vision for sport in Australia, Carroll also called for a government upgrade for sport — as a stand-alone portfolio with a seat in cabinet — ensuring a coordinated, targeted approach across other government strategies and policy areas.
"To ensure that the once-in-a-generation opportunity of the runway to Brisbane 2032 and the 10 years after are not missed nor squandered, we need a clear articulation of a national Statement of Purpose of, and for, the sports industry, which clearly establishes where sport sits in the federal government's national priorities, and recognised through a national sport strategy."
It was suggested other portfolios that could benefit from a holistic approach included health, education, regional development, foreign affairs, tourism, trade, infrastructure as well as Indigenous Australians, early childhood education and youth.
Half of Australia's population is involved in sport in some way — through junior, senior, disability, Indigenous, community and schools' programs.
To guarantee the benefits of sport are maximised for all Australians, a coordinated, united approach involving all levels of government were detailed, including:
- A national Statement of Purpose for sport
- A new sport investment model with built in accountability mechanisms
- A stand-alone Department of Sport
- A boost in direct investment in sports to arrest the decline
- A significant funding increase for the AIS to make it the CSIRO of sport
"The election of Brisbane as host of the 35th Olympiad has gifted Australia a once-in-a-generation opportunity," Carroll said.
"But simply successfully hosting the Brisbane Games is not going to deliver the positive outcomes that can be achieved, the generational legacy benefits for the nation.
"To do this, we must have a unity of purpose that transcends politics, lobby groups and fixed thinking."
Creating champions is not cheap.
Carroll pointed out not a single dollar he is asking for will go to his organisation, since it is self-funded through sponsorship, licensing and fundraising activities, as well as donations from the Australian Olympic Foundation and the International Olympic Committee.
The AOC contributed $35 million in getting Australia's last two Olympic teams to the COVID-impacted Tokyo 2020 Summer and the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. But to get to that point, each athlete had already received a years-long sport-specific investment.
While critics argue a cash-strapped government — staring at a $1 trillion deficit — has other priorities needing urgent attention, the sports sector refers to a KPMG analysis that found for every $1 spent on sport, the economy receives a $7 return.
Australia's international reputation for staging world-class events has seen the country win the rights to multiple world cups and championships in the years before Brisbane 2032, including this July's co-hosting with New Zealand of the FIFA Women's World Cup.
Each event comes with promises of economic benefits for local businesses and the tourism sector while, internationally, sport has proven to be a useful tool in Australia's soft-power kit.
Meanwhile, at a grassroots and community level, sport also helps address national concerns, including obesity, mental health and social inclusion.
Pointing to this wider value of sport, Carroll said sport did not want to be the "portfolio of marginal seats and political photo opportunities".
"We do not enjoy being the portfolio of coloured spreadsheets or whiteboards mapping electorates," he said.
"As an industry sector, we are fiscal contributors to the nation's wellbeing through the critical role sport plays in our collective health.
"In addition, sport delivers economy-building major events, tourism, hospitality, infrastructure, research and something that is most important, sporting excellence, building national pride and international status."
The AOC's proposed Statement of Purpose include elements such as:
- The independence and autonomy of sports organisations
- Commitment to a diversity of sports, reflecting the multicultural nation we are and the new world we are engaging in — particularly Asia
- Commitment to sport as a great enabler for people with a disability
- Commitment to sport in the School Curriculum, providing children with positive and diverse sporting experiences
- Recognition of the positive impact of whole-of-life sport for active lifestyles, reducing disease and other negative impacts of a sedentary lifestyle, as well as the positive impact that sport has on social cohesion and mental wellbeing across the community
- Recognition that sport can harness a sense of national pride that can unify the country
- Recognition that sporting organisations understand their sport business best and are well placed to develop, implement and deliver the outcomes being sought, especially in education and health
"What the AOC is proposing is new thinking and new action. It is thinking that deliberately targets investment in a more active, healthier and productive population through the delivery mechanism of sport," Carroll said.
"It is thinking that understands the legacy of an active and healthier society will not be achieved without the deliberate and planned coordination of the three key drivers: organised sport, health and education.
"It is thinking that knows that the Brisbane Games will not be a success if the Australian Teams are not successful.
"Olympic and Paralympic medals Australian athletes win are years in the making.
"This an opportunity to make a generational difference, by forging an entirely new partnership between government and the sport industry, a partnership that will deliver for Australia well into the second half of this century and beyond."
A federal government spokesperson said the Australian Sports Commission was currently provided hundreds of millions of dollars each year, which was distributed to sports bodies covering programs from grassroots to elite.
"At the instigation of the minister for sport a rapid review was undertaken of government sporting responsibilities at the federal level," the spokesperson said.
"The review, conducted between October and December 2022, looked at the Office for Sport within the Department of Health and Aged Care, the Australian Sports Commission, Sport Integrity Australia, the National Sports Tribunal, and the Australian Sports Foundation.
"Work is already underway on modelling the appropriate investment in sport to support the delivery of Australia's High Performance Sport Strategy."
With the federal budget due to be handed down in early May, umbrella sports organisations such as the AOC, the Australian Paralympic Committee and Commonwealth Games Australia are waiting to see if the Albanese government views sport as a priority for the decade ahead.
"It is premature to be making claims about a funding shortfall when this comprehensive process to model future investment is proceeding," the federal government spokesperson said.
"National sport outcomes will be measured beyond medals while ambitious performance goals will be balanced with a culture that prioritises physical, mental, emotional, and cultural wellbeing."
