Basketball Australia Chair questions Commonwealth sports funding

Basketball Australia Chair Kristina Keneally MP has questioned the Commonwealth Government's announcement that it will invest $8 million in Football Federation Australia (FFA) plans to support football in Western Sydney - including a new A-League team.
Keneally has suggested that the announcement raises serious questions about the allocation of Government funds to professional sports organisations.
Overlooking and apparently forgetting that the announcement related to funds committed by Labor Party colleagues prior to the 2010 Federal Election, former NSW Premier Keneally stated "while any investment in sport is a good thing and the announcement of this new funding will no doubt be welcomed by soccer fans in western Sydney, this sort of major expenditure cannot continually be made on behalf of a select few sports at the expense of other high participation codes like basketball.
"Coming on the heels of reports of a quiet injection from the Federal Government of $7.5 million to fill an apparent black hole in the FFA's accounts, today's announcement seems to be pouring more money into a professional sport league without scrutiny or consideration to the lack of parity in government funding to other major sports bodies."
Keneally said that as recently as February this year the Board of Basketball Australia was told by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) that the Commonwealth Government did not provide significant injections of funds into sports with professional leagues.
The former NSW Premier added "that message doesn't ring true when the Board of Basketball Australia sees the Commonwealth putting over $15 million into the FFA in just the past three months.
"It is irrelevant whether the funding comes from the ASC or consolidated revenue - it's all taxpayer funds, and in this case, being directed seemingly to a single sport consistently."
Keneally said that the days of basketball sitting quietly and modestly on the courtside were over, continuing "basketball in Australia is a major success story: all four of our international teams are ranked in the top 10 in the world, and all are in line to perform well at the Olympics and Paralympics.
"The top female basketball player in the world, Lauren Jackson, is Australian. Our NBL and WNBL are regarded internationally as significant and high-level competitions. Attendance at NBL and WNBL games has been consistently increasing and TV viewership is also on the rise.
"Over one million Australians play basketball, and Australia is ranked globally in the top five basketball playing nations in the world. The Crawford Report (David Crawford's 2009 review of sport funding and governance) even recognised basketball as one of this country's most popular sports that contributes significantly to the 'national ethos'.
"Yet, despite this success, basketball competes in a crowded sports and entertainment market and our NBL and WNBL clubs - just like clubs in many other professional leagues - struggle financially.
"Rivers of money flowing from the Commonwealth to one professional league - soccer - at the expense of many others creates a significantly uneven playing field, and exacerbates the challenges basketball's men's and women's professional teams face."
Keneally said one of the most acute challenges faced by basketball - both at a professional and community level - is a severe shortfall in infrastructure.
She continued "courts and venues are the biggest obstacle to the growth of the sport, and the greatest financial constraint on our professional clubs. Either they face exorbitant rent due to monopolistic circumstances, or they play in venues that are woefully small and limit their crowds."
Keneally said Basketball Australia would be commissioning an independent economic assessment of State and Federal funding to various professional leagues to make the case of the disparity in allocations between professional codes, adding "Basket