Active Kids Program

The Hon. DAMIEN TUDEHOPE (14:19:38):

I move:

(1)That this House notes that:

(a)since its launch by the Liberal-Nationals Government in 2018 to the end of 2022, the Active Kids program has resulted in the creation of 5,822,082 $100 vouchers helping parents offset the cost of participation of their school‑enrolled children aged between 4½ and 18 years in sport and active recreation;

(b)the top five activities for which girls redeemed the vouchers in 2022 were swimming, dance, netball, soccer and gymnastics and the top five activities for which boys redeemed the vouchers in 2022 were soccer, swimming, rugby league, basketball and martial arts;

(c)with 44 per cent of children spending more than two hours a day on sedentary leisure activities, the Active Kids program plays a crucial role in shifting physical activity behaviours of children and instilling healthy lifestyle habits; and

(d)without the support of the $100 Active Kids vouchers many families in New South Wales would be unable to afford to continue meeting the costs of their children's participation in sport and active recreation, resulting in harms to children's physical and mental health and wellbeing and in the closure of many local and community sport and active recreation groups due to unviability.

(2)That this House calls on the New South Wales Government to immediately assure parents and the community sports and active recreation sector that the $100 Active Kids voucher program will not be cancelled.

The Active Kids program is an important measure that the former Government put in place to address mental health and assist with the cost of living. The basic measure of the success of a government program is the take-up rate. The Liberal-Nationals Government introduced the voucher program in 2018 with an initial take-up rate of 53 per cent of eligible children throughout New South Wales. The take-up rate has increased every year since. It was 63 per cent in 2019, 65 per cent in 2020, 69 per cent in 2021 and a massive 72 per cent in 2022. In 2022 a total 1,373,787 vouchers were claimed by parents. The 2023 data is not yet showing on the Active Kids dashboard. Apparently there is a technical problem, but the Treasurer has probably removed it. It might be a savings measure for him.

Children aged five to 17 years should engage in a daily average of at least 60 minutes of moderate physical activity through play, games, sports, transportation, chores, recreation or planned exercise. A key barrier to children's participation in organised sport and active recreation is the cost of registration and membership fees, which includes insurance. For many families subject to cost-of-living pressures, choices need to be made between paying for a child's sport or other pressing expenses. The $100 Active Kids voucher for each child is a significant enabler and encourager for parents to choose to support their children's participation in sport and active recreation. For many local community sports and active recreation providers the Active Kids vouchers are helping lift the participation rate. Without the support of the vouchers, participation rates will inevitably decline, leaving some local groups no longer viable and resulting in children missing out.

A fantastic aspect of the program is the range of activities offered by eligible providers. The motion notes that the top five activities for which girls redeemed the vouchers in 2022 were swimming, dance, netball, soccer and gymnastics. The top five activities for which boys redeemed the vouchers in 2022 were soccer, swimming, rugby league, basketball and martial arts. Other activities making the top 10 for one or other genders were tennis, athletics, cricket, rugby union and Oztag. Rather than axing the program, the Government should focus on increasing its uptake even further, especially by identifying local government areas that have a lower participation rate and working with statewide sporting bodies to foster local providers in those areas. The motion calls on the New South Wales Government to immediately assure parents and the community sports and active recreation sector that the $100 Active Kids voucher program will not be cancelled.

The current vouchers are available for use until 30 June 2023. Parents need to be able to assure their children that they will be able to continue their participation in their favourite sports and active recreation in the second half of this year. The Liberals and Nationals gave that guarantee during the election. The now Premier and his Labor colleagues gave no indication to parents that this successful program would face the chop. Parents, children and sporting groups should not be left anxious and wondering while the Minister for Finance conducts her line‑by‑line expenditure review in concert with the Treasurer. The $100 Active Kids vouchers are value for money. Increasing children's participation in healthy sports and physical activity has immediate benefits to their physical and mental health, personal and social skills and general wellbeing, which will flow on as they grow into young people. A healthier, happier population is a guaranteed plus for the budget bottom line from savings in health, mental health, youth justice and social welfare expenditure. I commend the motion to the House.

The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY (Treasurer) (14:24:51):

The shadow Treasurer so loved the Active Kids program that he cut it himself when he was in government. The shadow Treasurer does not need to move a motion calling on the Government to reverse a decision it has not made. He should instead make a personal explanation as to why, when he was the finance Minister sitting on the Expenditure Review Committee, he did not once say that a program that hundreds of thousands of parents depend on was not in the budget. If the shadow Treasurer could give us that explanation it would relieve me of the obligation of trying to get the bottom of how the former Government failed to fund this program it says it so loves.

The finance Minister and I have made initial inquiries into how it was possible that the Perrottet Government failed to fund the program. We have been advised that the former Minister for Tourism and Sport never put in a bid to continue the funding. Not only did members opposite cut the program but they did not even try to save it, even with all the powers available to them as the Government. All they had to do was put a bid into the Expenditure Review Committee and then make a decision. They could not even do that. We have active kids in this in this State but we have inactive former Ministers on the other side of the House. That is the situation we find ourselves in.

The culpable Minister was Stuart Ayres. I inquired into what he was doing in June, around the budget period last year. He managed to find himself able to appoint John Barilaro to a position in New York, but he could not put a bid in to save the Active Kids program. That is the record that members opposite leave us. Let's not excuse his successor as sports Minister, Mr Henskens in the other place. He could have come to the rescue in the half-year review. He could have rocked up in February and done it—after they extended the review from December. But even then he could not find the time to say, "Here's the money." Government members will get to the bottom of this mess like we are getting to the bottom of the $7 billion mess we have been left on the operating side of the budget and the billion-dollar mess we have been left on the capital budget. We look forward to coming up with a solution.

I seek a short extension of time.

Leave granted.

The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY:

I move:

That the question be amended by omitting paragraph (2) and inserting instead "(2) That this House notes that no budget submissions were made to the last budget by any former Ministers to fund the Active Kids voucher program beyond 30 June 2023".

They are the facts, and they are what this House should be considering. What we should hear in reply from the shadow Treasurer is an explanation as to how he let this one slip by.

Ms ABIGAIL BOYD (14:28:26):

The Greens have listened with interest to the contributions from the former finance Minister and from the now Treasurer. I wonder how many more accusations we will hear from the former Government that the new Government is going to cancel or cut something that the former Government had already cancelled or cut. I know that certain members of the former Government are not keen on us looking backwards and unravelling the mess they created over the past 12 years. However, when it comes to matters like this, we are going to see more and more blaming of the new Government for things the old Government did. For that reason, The Greens wholeheartedly support the amendment moved by the Government as an actual reflection of the facts as opposed to the mudslinging and ridiculousness of members on the other side of the Chamber.

The Hon. WES FANG (14:29:51):

I contribute to debate on this very important motion. It is important for a number of reasons. Members know that rural and regional kids in particular are really taking up the Active Kids program vouchers. I only need to look down a list of the Active Kids vouchers redeemed in electorates we sought to represent at the last election: Over 750,000 vouchers have been redeemed by those kids. Why is it important that this program continue? Sport is an equaliser for so many in our community. No matter what your background, your upbringing or the advantage you may or may not have, everybody is equal on the field. That is important for our communities. Sport provides assistance with mental health for so many kids. It assists them with confidence. It provides health and wellbeing advantages. Often it is something they look forward to, something they can aim for. It is a shining light in their lives. This Government does not recognise that. What members are seeing from those opposite is absolute obfuscation.

I note that the Premier has said he is looking to commit to the program for another year. Well, he needs to do better than that. Today he needs to say that Active Kids will continue. Many people in rural and regional communities are looking to this Government and this Premier to save the program. Today in question time members heard about the hockey team from Taree that wants this program saved. There are members opposite who well know the value of hockey in the Myall Lakes region. In fact, there are members opposite who participate in the very competition that team is involved in. It should be those opposite who are making the case for the program in this Chamber, not us—and it is a real tragedy they are not.

The Hon. COURTNEY HOUSSOS (Minister for Finance, and Minister for Natural Resources) (14:33:04):

I welcome the opportunity to make a contribution to this important debate. I was shocked by the Treasurer's revelations that indeed there was not even a single budget bid put in by the previous Government in relation to the Active Kids voucher program. It is worthwhile recapping that the only decision to cut the Active Kids program was that made by the previous Treasurer and the previous Minister for Finance, who is now shadow Treasurer. The only decision to cut this program was that taken last year by the Liberals and Nationals and then Treasurer Matt Kean in the preparation of his 2022-23 budget. That is the only decision that has been made.

The Hon. Damien Tudehope:

So make a decision today. Be a government.

The Hon. COURTNEY HOUSSOS:

I acknowledge the interjection across the table from the shadow Treasurer, and former finance Minister, who is calling on us to be a government. I assure members—and the community of New South Wales—that is exactly what we are doing. We are taking a calm, careful and methodical approach to this Government's finances. We were deeply shocked by the state of the books we were presented upon being sworn into government. We knew we needed to be careful during the election campaign. We were prudent with our promises. We took a disciplined and careful approach because we knew the State was already projected to go into $187.5 billion of government debt—the most ever—because of the decisions taken by the previous Government and the situation it had got us into.

Time expired.

But we did not know about the $7 billion of additional pressures we would be facing over the forward estimates. Some 1,112 nursing positions, which were promised by the previous Treasurer in his budget speech as part of an expansion of the health workforce, were made temporary contracts instead of permanent positions. In the aftermath of the pandemic, those important nursing positions were put on as temporary positions. The other unfunded item in the budget was the decision to stop funding the office of Cyber Security NSW next year. The out-of-home care system is on track for hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of blowouts. We are going to be prudent. We are going to be open. We are going to be accountable as we work through this process. But we for sure will not be dictated to by those opposite, who already made the decision to cut the budget. []

The Hon. NATALIE WARD (14:36:20):

There is a very easy answer here today that could save all members some time. Those opposite just need to say, "We will back in Active Kids." As a former Minister for Sport, I backed it. We created it. This is a serious issue, and I do not understand why this Government has such disdain for our children and their physical activity that it would look to cut this program. It is disingenuous of those opposite to have gone to an election with Chris Minns out in front of the cameras kicking a ball around with his boys. Those opposite got elected—guess what? They're now on that side of the Chamber. The power is in their hands to back this in right now. Looking backwards and blaming members on this side of the House will only get them so far. At some point they have to be answerable to those sporting communities, those kids and those volunteers. But guess what their first priority is? It is to pay the unions. The black hole is here because those opposite have to pay the ferryman. They have to pay the unions first before they can do anything else. They say, "How about we just cut the money to the kids?"

Active Kids vouchers are absolutely vital. There is a very simple answer here: Back it in and say, "Yes, we will do it. We will back in our families and our kids." Active Kids vouchers and other vital cost-of-living relief measures are under threat because we know it is the same old Labor. They cannot manage the budget. They cannot meet the demands of their union bosses at the same time as looking after families in New South Wales. We know how successful this program has been. As former Minister for Sport, I absolutely backed this in. Why? Because it makes a difference to families.

The PRESIDENT:

Order! There is too much chatter in the Chamber. The member will be heard in silence.

The Hon. NATALIE WARD:

After the impacts of the pandemic, we know how important sport is. It is not just a line item in the budget. Those opposite can laugh and giggle, but this is important to families. After the pandemic we know the importance of mental health, social inclusion and volunteering. Involvement in a community sporting club teaches our kids how to turn up on a Saturday and be part of a team—part of something that matters. More than 4.85 million vouchers had been redeemed by the start of this year. They saved families $481 million. This is a program that families need. More than half a million children in New South Wales use the Active Kids program introduced by our Government. We do not understand why those opposite are slashing it. Why are you taking a knife to this program?

Sporting pursuits allow our kids to play across the State. BMC Public Health reviewed the Active Kids program in 2021 and found that it led to increased physical activity across all sociodemographic population groups. Voucher‑specific activity made up 42.2 per cent of the total time that children participated in structured physical activities outside of school. They increased or maintained that activity. It was good for them. They could be the future Sam Kerr, the future Ash Barty, the future Ellyse Perry, Cathy Freeman, Lauren Jackson—the people of our future. This is a sporting country and sporting capital, and the Government is letting down the State.

The Hon. ANTHONY D'ADAM (14:39:40):

It's a bit rich, isn't it? The hypocrisy is breathtaking. The shadow Treasurer refers to razor gangs. The only razor gang that was in operation was the gang that he was a member of, which cut this program. If this program is so good, why didn't the former Government give it long‑term funding? Why wasn't it in the forward estimates with long‑term commitments from the former Government? That's on them. Members can all agree that the objects of the program are laudable. We all agree that kids should be active. But the question is: Is this the best way? I readily admit that I accessed the Active Kids vouchers, and I am not someone who needs the kind of cost‑of‑living support that the Opposition is suggesting this program delivers. In a situation where we should be looking for a targeted approach to reverse the inequity in our society, perhaps we should look at the equity implications of this program. That is something for this side of the House to evaluate. It is our time in government.

The Hon. Damien Tudehope:

It's our time!

The Hon. ANTHONY D'ADAM:

I know it smarts, Damien. You lost. You're on the Opposition benches. It hurts. I can understand it. It is now our turn to be in Government. It is our turn to make these decisions. We will make them as we choose—

The Hon. Daniel Mookhey:

Calmly and methodically.

The Hon. ANTHONY D'ADAM:

—methodically, with a process, not at the timing set by the Opposition.

The Hon. TAYLOR MARTIN (14:41:47):

I support the motion of the Leader of the Opposition regarding the Active Kids vouchers. It is an absolute disgrace that the Labor Party, in its first few months in government, will take the axe to such a worthwhile program in the middle of a cost‑of‑living crisis. Members know the reason the Government will not be up‑front with kids and parents about cutting this program: It needs the money. How else is it going to pay for its secret promises of large pay rises for public servants that it made to union officials prior to the election? Members know that the Government intends to remove the public sector wages cap. It did not budget for it prior to the election. The removal of the cap will cost billions and billions of dollars.

Now that Labor members are in government, they are responsible for balancing the budget and they have to accept those consequences. First in their sights to pay for their unfunded promises are the kids, the parents and the grassroots sporting organisations of New South Wales. As the Leader of the Opposition said, since it was launched by the Coalition in 2018 until the end of 2022, the Active Kids program has resulted in the creation of more than 5.8 million $100 vouchers, helping parents offset the cost of participation for their school‑enrolled children aged between four and 18 years. It is baffling that the Government would cancel this program as one of its first steps coming into government. The program not only benefits families but also provides much‑needed revenue boost to local, volunteer‑run sporting organisations.

The most recent data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare on physical activity and limiting sedentary behaviour found that among children aged five to 14, less than a quarter undertook the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity every day and less than a third met the screen‑based activity guidelines. The Active Kids voucher was part of the solution to both of those problems. The Government needs to be up‑front with kids and parents and tell them why it is cancelling this program and adding to cost‑of‑living pressures.

The Hon. MARK BUTTIGIEG (14:44:00):

I do not know if I am living in some parallel universe here. The Opposition side of the House is trying to tell us that we need to fund a program—which we are actively considering—that they cut. Let us understand what has happened here. From 1 July 2023—

The Hon. Damien Tudehope:

It doesn't finish until 30 June 2023.

The Hon. MARK BUTTIGIEG:

Have you read the budget papers? Presumably you had a read of them, because you are the ones who supported the cut.

The Hon. Damien Tudehope:

Point of order—

The PRESIDENT:

I assume the point of order is that the member should direct his remarks through the Chair.

The Hon. MARK BUTTIGIEG:

Through you, Mr President, the former Government—I do not know how many weeks you have been in opposition now. Six?—actually cut this program. Now they are on that side of the House, they are trying to tell us that we cut the program. There are these things called the budget and the forward estimates. You projected a wafer‑thin surplus on the back of cutting future programs, and you won't even be decent and honest enough to front up to the electorate and admit what you were doing. During the election campaign—

The PRESIDENT:

Order! The member will direct his comments through the Chair.

The Hon. MARK BUTTIGIEG:

My apologies. I was very busy campaigning, but I do not ever recall hearing that the then Government was cutting this program during the campaign. Now they come into this Chamber and want to lecture us about cutting a laudable program. Our kids do need to be active. We do need to encourage it. But we have to try to find the money now. In the little time I have, I remind members of the litany of debt that we have been left with. There were $72 billion of public assets sold.

The Hon. Daniel Mookhey:

It was $93 billion, actually.

The Hon. MARK BUTTIGIEG:

It was $93 billion. The infrastructure program that those opposite are so proud of is 80 per cent debt funded. They left us with a record high level of debt. The interest alone that we pay has risen from $2.5 billion to $7 billion. We now pay more interest than we have since 1996, and they want to criticise us for coming in here and thinking about where we are going to get the money for a program that they cut. The gall is unbelievable.

The Hon. AILEEN MacDONALD (14:47:15):

The average New South Wales voter and parent might not be able to list every Government policy, or which policies they felt had a direct impact on their lives, but I bet Active Kids vouchers would be one very familiar to every parent of school‑aged children—and a welcome policy, too. Not only do those vouchers have a direct relief effect on the wallets of mums and dads, but they also incentivise the essential active play that kids need for healthy physical, emotional and psychological development. Not only that, playing a sport knits both kids and parents into a community's social fabric as sporting teams and clubs are a major part of Australian community participation. Playing sport teaches children so many valuable lessons in resilience, sportsmanship, perseverance and determination, and it also gives them a social outlet and a way of making new friends.

For those living in rural and regional areas, the benefits of these vouchers are even more apparent. Because of practical issues of geographical distance, playing sport often comes with heavy additional travel costs, either to attend training to get to games in another town—sometimes over 100 kilometres or more away. During the lunch break, I spoke to an Armidale resident and father of four sons, who told me that the cancellation of the Active Kids vouchers would impact his decision about his sons continuing with their current sporting participation. The vouchers have been an immense help to him. As members can imagine, the cost of four children playing sport is significant. He mentioned to me that, with the cost of living increasing, expenses such as sport have to be considered carefully.

What a terrible shame it would be for our State if our youth were further encouraged to lead sedentary lifestyles thanks to decisions of the Labor Party, which prioritises its own pet social causes over the health and wellbeing of our State's future—our children. I sincerely hope that this will not be the case and call on the New South Wales Government to rule out the cancellation of this important voucher program. I support the motion because, as the Premier has been known to say, it is the right thing to do.

The Hon. Daniel Mookhey:

Where is your explanation?

The Hon. DAMIEN TUDEHOPE (14:50:11):

In reply: The explanation is this: This motion was a real opportunity for members opposite to say, "We won't cut it."

The Hon. Daniel Mookhey:

Six weeks ago you could have saved it yourself.

The Hon. DAMIEN TUDEHOPE:

Six weeks ago—before the election, in fact—the Premier announced that the program would continue. This was your chance to say to every family in this State, "We will back your kids participating in sport. We will back your kids participating in a way that gets them off iPads and electronic devices." This motion was your chance as the Treasurer, your chance as the Minister for Finance to—

The Hon. Jeremy Buckingham:

Point of order—

The Hon. DAMIEN TUDEHOPE:

Through you, Mr President.

The Hon. Jeremy Buckingham:

Mr President, you made an erudite ruling just moments ago about directing comments through the Chair.

The Hon. DAMIEN TUDEHOPE:

Thank you, Mr Buckingham.

The PRESIDENT:

The Leader of the Opposition has observed your point of order.

The Hon. DAMIEN TUDEHOPE:

This was the Treasurer's chance to show that this Government will make decisions for the benefit of the people of this State. Nothing could be more important than backing what the previous Government committed to do. We committed to this program before the election and we told the people of this State. But today members opposite—the Hon. Anthony D'Adam and the Hon. Mark Buttigieg, who lives in a parallel universe—

The Hon. Daniel Mookhey:

Point of order: The Leader of the Opposition knows well that it is not parliamentary or orderly to point directly at members in an aggressive manner. Given that this is the first week of the new Parliament, we should set the standards that all members should follow.

The PRESIDENT:

We will move on. There is only one minute left of this excellent speech in reply.

The Hon. DAMIEN TUDEHOPE:

From here on, whenever we hear that we must have budget repair and that there is a budget black hole, it is an excuse to cut something. This Government is committed to being a government of no vision and no delivery for the people of this State. This Government reflects previous Labor governments, which benefitted their mates on a regular basis but cut the future of the people of this State, including that of our kids. Nothing could be sorrier than the Government not backing this motion.

The PRESIDENT:

The Hon. Damien Tudehope has moved a motion, to which the Hon. Daniel Mookhey has moved an amendment. The question is that the amendment be agreed to.

The House divided.

Ayes24

Noes11

Majority13

Amendment agreed to.

The PRESIDENT:

The question is that the motion as amended be agreed to.

Motion as amended agreed to.

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