The 2023-24 federal budget indicates it will pledge up to $39.8 million toward supporting sporting events, sporting diplomacy and sporting activity in the nation. While this bump in funding coincide with The Australia Bureau of Statistics showing record engagement from fans, critics of the budget say this increase to major sporting events comes at the expense of other areas, such as the NDIS and education.
The NDIS is one of the fastest-growing expenses, the 2023-24 budget is looking to save up to $15 billion over the forecasted four years. NDIS Minister Bill Shorten said in a press conference on Wednesday morning,
“This scheme was never designed for every Australian with a disability but for the most severely and profoundly impaired.”
He called the NDIS “the only life-boat in the ocean” for people with disabilities, indicating the government would push states and territories to provide a share of funding and services. Shorten has previously accused states of underspending on disability care.
A large chunk of the budget is devoted to sports venues as Australia looks ahead to building for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. This will see $3.4 billion over the next 10 years, which will be divided up into building a new Brisbane Arena $2.5 billion, $935 million on 16 other new sporting venues or toward upgrading existing venues. The government also allocated $240 million in this budget toward the new waterfront stadium in Hobart.
In conjunction with the announcement of budget pledges to sporting venues, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced that the arts and recreation service industry has today recorded the largest percentage increase in business turnover in March. It has risen by 9.7 per cent according to monthly data released by the ABS.
“Strong ground attendance at AFL events and an earlier start to the NRL season over March contributed to the rise in business turnover for Arts and recreation services,” ABS head of business indicators, Robert Ewing, said.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ehXu1j_oYg_bd7piIHNGAM8ES4KKlL_Qr2sFknS7qfU/edit#gid=0
As people are spending more money on events such as NRL and AFL games, the NRL announced they were starting a week early to expand the season to 27 total rounds due to the increase of the Dolphins. The AFL addition of the new Macquarie Point stadium in Tasmania was a deal-making factor for the AFL deciding on greenlighting a new 19th team addition.
With the federal government pledging to contribute $375 million on top from the Tasmanian government. The build is not set to be completed until 2029, and this is only a projection. The new stadium in Hobart was the cause of controversy for the state and federal governments as many feel as though the funds could have been directed into other important priorities.
A total of 661,446 fans watched the previous 10 matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground which is a new record up from previous record attendance in 2015 of 612,281.
Pushing funding toward Australia holding world-level competitions, major sporting events, and local sporting programs. Accumulating considerable revenue for local and national communities and businesses. This can assist in the explanation of why the government is placing more emphasis on this industry and is backed by ABS research.