Australian Sports Commission's Kieren Perkins says sport is failing on diversity

Stating his belief that the nation is "entering one of the greatest periods of opportunity in Australia's sporting history", Australian Sports Commission Chief Executive Kieren Perkins has today cautioned that "sport needs to be a lot more open and inclusive” in an address to the National Press Club in Canberra.

Speaking on the day that the Commission revealed its new strategic vision, Our Green and Gold decade of opportunity, and also announced that its Sport Australia brand is being retired, Perkins was critical of the make up of sports management in Australia, commenting that little had changed in the more than a decade in which he pursued a career in banking.

Returning to sport administration in November 2020 as President of Swimming Australia before taking up his current role at the beginning of this year, Perkins stated "I’ve been very disheartened but honestly not surprised to see that sport looks identical to when I finished in the late 2000s as an athlete.

"We haven’t progressed and it’s imperative that our sporting sector becomes truly representative of a modern, progressive and diverse Australia.

"By 2032 (Olympics), if sports still look the same as they do today, I certainly haven’t done my job properly."

Perkins cited Australia's Commonwealth Games delegation at Birmingham as evidence of a lack of diversity in elite sport where although 53% of the athletes were female, less than 10% of high performance coaches were women.

In addition, while 13% of the team were born overseas compared with 29% of the Australian population.

Noting that said Australian sport had to do more to nurture talent from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and create more inclusive environments for people who might be turned off by rigid structures around competition, training and coaching at community level, Perkins noted "all Australians must see themselves in their sporting heroes, helping to promote national pride, drive sport participation and increase our talent pool.”

Pointing to diversity and inclusion as key for genuine change in sport, from grass roots to elite, Perkins advised "I truly believe we are entering one of the greatest periods of opportunity in Australia's sporting history.

"Our most important job will be to put these words into action. Any game plan in sport is only as good as the way in which you deliver it.

"The reality is that for Australia to establish the world's best sporting system, none of us here will be able to win alone.

"But if we can all be part of this together, we will achieve remarkable things. Not just for sport, but for Australia."

Click here to view Kieren Perkins' full address to the National Press Club on iView.

Image: Kieren Perkins addressing the National Press Club in Canberra today. Credit: Australian Sports Commission.