Federal Budget 2017: Funding to boost Commonwealth Games chances
AUSTRALIA’S chances at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games are set to receive a Budget boost.
Federal Budget
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THE Federal Government will go for gold under a multimillion-dollar plan to help more Australian athletes win medals at next year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
A new $15 million winning fund will be released in today’s Budget for about 2000 elite and aspiring athletes in a bid to widen Australia’s chances of bagging a swag of medals.
The Government will not hide today that it wants Queensland to host the most successful Commonwealth Games in history.
Sporting organisations will share in the cash splash, which will help pay for high-performance training, better coaches and the latest equipment.
It will also fund athletes to travel to international meets to give them game time against the best in the world.
Sport Minister Greg Hunt said yesterday that he would not comment on pre-Budget speculation, but he said the Government was committed to supporting the Commonwealth Games and Australia’s athletes.
Australia was ranked second in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, winning 137 medals overall, including 49 gold. England pipped Australia with 174 medals, including 58 gold.
The Courier-Mail understands the Government hopes Commonwealth Games fever will also grip the nation from April 4, and encourage everyday Australians, many who are overweight, to get off the couch and increase their physical activity.
The Federal Government has already invested significantly to help the Games.
About $95 million was provided for Stage 2 of the Gold Coast Light Rail and $15 million to upgrade Metricon Stadium in Carrara.
In last year’s Budget, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) was given an extra $1.5 million for drug-testing at the Games.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that the Budget would be committed to “fairness, opportunity and security’’.
Mr Turnbull said the Government aimed to make sure Australians were given the opportunity to “get ahead’’, to “get a better-paying job’’, to start and grow a business and “to realise their dreams’’.
The Government is already spending a massive $158 billion on welfare this financial year.
Originally published as Federal Budget 2017: Funding to boost Commonwealth Games chances
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