Zoe McKenzie amplifies Lachie's voice on the accessibility of junior sports

Joining the 2024 Youth Voice in Parliament campaign, ‪@ZoeMcKenzieMP‬ (Member for Flinders, VIC) amplified the voice of 12 year old Lachie on the accessibility of junior sports. Speech transcript is below -
I’m concerned about the high prices of playing junior sports. Because of these costs, many kids stay inside and spend time on their phones or computers, which negatively impacts their mental health.
When I return to Somers at the age of 21, I want to see kids playing a sport outside with their friends and family. The way that the State and Federal Governments can help is by increasing their grants for junior sports. Currently, grants are limited to $200 and hard to get, but the average cost of playing a sport for one season is $1500-only about 13.33% of the total cost. Increasing these grants could help reduce the 40% of Australian kids who don’t participate in sports.
Additionally, councils need to make sports teams more welcoming. Currently, 75% of people with disabilities who want to play sports don’t, because they feel they have limited opportunities. The government should be encouraging the youth of Australia to get out there and be active and healthy and it will cost the government less in the end, when those kids grow up healthy and happy."