0°C | Thursday November 13, 2025 
16 November 2023
By Hannah Wilcox
The NSW state government has been slammed for going back on its promise to fund local sports, with North Shore MP Felicity Wilson claiming it’s ‘another broken promise’ from Labor.
Wilson met with Shadow Minister for Sport Eleni Petinos and representatives from Cricket NSW at North Sydney Oval on Friday to discuss the impact of funding decisions on local clubs and the future of sport.
“Before the election the Labor candidate for North Shore promised $11 million for North Sydney Oval, which Sport Minister Steve Kamper has refused to honour – proving once again that Labor cannot be trusted,” Wilson claimed.
Petinos was also critical of the downscaling of the Active Kids initiative by 85%.
“We’re so lucky to have North Sydney Oval as such a premier piece of elite sporting infrastructure, but also for our grassroots sports,” Wilson told the Sun.
“But we know we need to invest more in this oval to really make sure that we can maximise the opportunities both at that elite level and for grassroots, particularly for women’s sports.”
“We know how much Australians are loving women’s sport as they should, but the way we can make sure that we uplift women’s sport – particularly that elite level – is by making sure they have the facilities and amenities that get them access to the best games, the broadcasting rights, the training opportunities, all of those international games,” she added.
North Sydney Oval is often used for international cricket games with the Sydney Sixers frequently playing at the pitch but Wilson said the facility should be used for a wider range of sports.
“We want more of that opportunity and not just for cricket, we want it for AFL. We’ve had the women’s side of origin here. Obviously the Bears play here, the Northern Suburbs Rugby Union Shoremen, play here as well and so do the women’s teams,” she continued.
“But at the moment what we need to do is get the investment that actually helps catalyse that change.”
Wilson argued that without funding going into the right facilities, grassroot level community sports won’t be able to nurture young athletes into following elite sporting pathways.
Prior to the last election, then Premier Dominic Perrottet committed to the funding for North Sydney Oval, specifically to make it a centre of women’s sports.
“We actually had a really wonderful Labor candidate who ran for the seat, and he was all in backing that $11 million funding to invest in North Sydney Oval and particularly women’s sport for North Sydney Oval.”
“We’ve had a Labor government come in that has just decided to ignore pledges and commitments that have been made based upon really detailed analysis of work to show what our communities need, and what our grassroots and elite sports need,” Wilson added.
Given the collective basked glory from the Matildas at the Women’s World Cup earlier this year, Wilson accused the Labor government of not “putting their money where their mouth is.”
“But if they’re not going to fund the investment here at this oval, then what are they going to do to put some weight behind their claims that they back women’s sport?” she added.
“It was the Berejiklian government that actually won the bid for the Women’s World Cup that was just played here in Australia.”
“Yet now we have a Labor government who’s come in, has had all the plaudits of a successful World Cup and want to take credit for what is such a strong performance from our women footballers,” Wilson said.
“And instead of just praising women’s sport, invest in women’s sport because that’s where you’re going to see the next tranche of elite Australian women cricketers, football players, rugby union players, AFLW players coming to the fore.”
“It’s because of the investment that we need in their futures.”
Rachael Haynes, Head of Sydney Sixers, called for sports to get the support they need to grow participation. “We stand at a pivotal moment in Australian sport,” Haynes said. “Investing in facilities like North Sydney Oval will leave an enduring legacy for the young girls who have embraced our sport and others. Women and girls’ registrations in cricket clubs and Woolworths Cricket Blast in NSW increased 49% last summer alone, and it’s our responsibility to provide those participants with the facilities they deserve”.