Julia Gillard calls on business to be good sports about kids

Former prime minister Julia Gillard will urge corporate Australia to spend more money on children’s sport and grassroots facilities.

Former prime minister and beyondblue chair Julia Gillard speaks at the unveiling of a sanctuary and sculpture at Macquarie Park Cemetery in Sydney. Picture: AAP

Former prime minister Julia Gillard will urge corporate Australia to spend more money on children’s sport and grassroots facilities as part of a plan to raise awareness of the tax-deductibility of community sports donations.

Ms Gillard will be the first speaker of what will become an annual Prime Minister’s Sporting Oration to take place in Melbourne in November to promote the Australian Sports Foundation to a gathering of business leaders and identities.

The announcement of her role will be made at today’s AFL Grand Final Lunch hosted by the Carbine Club, one of the traditional events held ahead of Saturday’s clash between ­Collingwood and West Coast.

Ms Gillard, a long-time Western Bulldogs fan, said the oration would aim to “shine a light on the importance of grassroots sport for children” and big business needed to become more involved in funding sport below the elite level.

“Many of our children in Australia simply don’t get the opportunity to be actively involved in sport. We want to change this. The Prime Minister’s Sporting Oration seeks to influence the policy debate, focusing on four key issues that are challenging our nation, which will benefit from our ­engagement in sport: physical ­activity and active participation and nutrition; diversity and inclusion, women and girls participation; leadership; and decision-making,” Ms Gillard said.

“The PM’s Sporting Oration is an initiative that will encourage philanthropic and corporate investment in these areas, and that will have a profound impact for the community and our children’s and our nation’s future. Sport and recreation are fundamental to a child’s development.”

The ASF takes tax-deductible donations and provides grants to hundreds of grassroots and elite sports clubs and governing bodies each year, raising funds for more than 2500 sporting projects. It raised $44.7 million from donors in the 2018 financial year. About 48 per cent of donations in the year to June 30 were for grassroots and community sports clubs.

The ASF has been granted charitable status from July 1 via the formation of the Australian Sports Foundation Charitable Fund, which means it can access distributions from most private and public ancillary funds.

That change could help the ASF raise at least $25m to $30m additionally by 2022: eventually it hopes to create enough interest to receive $100m each year.

ASF chief executive Patrick Walker said it made good business sense for business to help local communities with sports projects and improved female facilities were particularly important.