As a relative newcomer to Sydney, I’ve discovered a phrase I almost never heard mentioned before I moved here: “Western Sydney”. As someone who lives in the Eastern Suburbs, the Western Suburbs aren’t really on my radar. I have little need to go out there.
I did, however, discover some new information about Western Sydney last weekend. Its new AFL team, the Giants, took the field against the Sydney Swans’ second XI. The hapless Giants kicked three goals and got smashed by over 100 points.
Wow. Furthermore, according to ABC’s Offsiders program, the NSW Government spent $45 million redeveloping a stadium which will play host to the team.
All indications are that, despite Western Sydney having as much chance of winning AFL games as Britney Spears does of winning an Academy Award, the money will keep pumping into this team.
I’m trying hard not to be overly negative. I love my sport! However, the above scenario makes me instinctively think of one word: waste. Surely there’s a way this money could be better spent? In fact, I just thought of one.
In December 2010, the Federal Government gave $1.9 million and the State Government $750,000 to provide housing for over 60 homeless Western Sydney residents.
This all seems to be part of the Government’s plan to halve homelessness by 2020. This is an ambitious target because, according to the Salvation Army’s website, over 100,000 Australians are homeless every night.
Despite this alarming number, the average wait list for public housing is 16 years. Even if you’re in extreme risk, the waiting time is still 12 – 18 months.
Surely spending a few extra million dollars helping get people off the streets or out of poverty is a better use of money than funding a failed AFL experiment?
Former Premier Nathan Rees thought so. When he initially abandoned plans for the Government to fund the GWS stadium redevelopment he said, “I’d much rather spend the money on hospitals and schools.”
For the first time in my life I actually dared to utter the words, “Well said, Nathan Rees,” which was right up there with “Lindsay Lohan is so classy” in the Sentences I’ll Never Say category.
Another problem is that homelessness just isn’t very popular, whereas sport is always popular. For example, in the USA, basketball player Kobe Bryant recently started a foundation aimed at helping homeless young families – a commendable initiative.
However, take a look at how the story was reported. The focus of the article is almost entirely on Bryant’s relationship with his new coach.
In fact, by refusing to answer questions about anything other than homelessness, the journalist played up the “he doesn’t like his coach” angle even further!
Of course any story involving Kobe Bryant usually comes down to Bryant’s ego but, for this particular story, it seems homelessness can take a back seat.
Homelessness is just one area that could be addressed but surely there are other areas too? For example, Federal Minister for Employment Participation, Kate Ellis recently announced a $500k program designed to help 600 disadvantaged job seekers find work.
That’s not a bad rate of return. Just half a million dollars to help 600 people. If the $45 million spent on Western Sydney’s stadium refurbishment was spent on this, imagine how many people’s lives could be positively impacted.
I realise that simply throwing money at issues is not the silver bullet that will end homelessness. But surely it can’t be a bad thing?
Homelessness and other similar issues are problems that confront thousands of Australians every day who are often overlooked. Maybe this is our chance to take a failed AFL experiment out of the spotlight and shine it instead on an issue which deserves some more attention.
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