Blacktown Council to spend $11,000 to lock in homegrown Matilda Kyah Simon for International Women’s Day event
A western Sydney council is set to spend $11k in ratepayer funds to lock in a homegrown Matildas star to speak at their 2024 International Women’s Day community awards.
Blacktown
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A western Sydney council will spend thousands in ratepayer funds to lock in a homegrown Matildas star to speak at their 2024 International Women’s Day community awards ceremony.
Matildas star Kyah Simon is set to return to her old stomping grounds in Blacktown as the headliner of the council’s annual IWD awards and breakfast, to be held at Bowman Hall on March 8.
Blacktown City Council approved funding an additional $5000 in contingency funds to the event in order to “ensure a quality speaker” is booked.
Councillor Julie Griffiths AM, who proposed council allocate additional funds for the event, said she was “proud as punch” that the events team got Simon on board, and that the dual-Olympian was “excited” to speak.
Cr Griffiths confirmed to The Advocate that Simon had all but signed off on her guest appearance, but even council’s revised budget of $11,000 was below what the “starting rate” for Matildas stars was.
“The problem that we’ve had for many years, is that we’ve kept funding quite low; however now a lot of candidates start at $10,000 … and we’ve had to consider upping our offer,” she said.
Cr Griffiths said the starting rate for booking a Matilda is reportedly $13,000 – “and they weren’t at the top of the [price] range”.
“I’ve always believed that we never allocated enough money to attract high-profile people to our events,” she added.
“A lot of things have changed since we started to attract people of all different calibres to these events, and you have to be fair and reasonable in regards to what their asking price is.
“You don’t want to undervalue the Matildas by asking less than what we’re asking.”
As council waved through the $5000 funding for this event, chief executive Kerry Robinson confirmed there would be a review into the funding of speakers and guests at council events, to look at “what the market has done” before offering further advice.
But Cr Griffiths said there was “a lot of buzz” around Simon – who first took to the pitch with Quakers Hill Junior Football Club – returning home for International Women’s Day.
She said the Central Coast Mariners forward, who is returning to play with the Central Coast Mariners in the Women’s A-League after battling a calf injury after tearing her ACL in 2022, was the “best fit” for the gig.
“She’s a superstar in her own right,” Cr Griffiths said.
“You couldn’t get anyone more inspirational than Kyah … she’s one of our own, she’s an Indigenous woman, but also her struggles through the World Cup, overcoming injury, coming back from overseas.
“I felt that she could bring a lot not just for sports fans, but business women, all women.”
The Blacktown City Council International Women’s Day awards and breakfast will be held at Bowman Hall on March 8, starting at 7.30am.
The Community Woman of the Year and leading working women will also be commended at the event that is “fully funded” by council.
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