Sport’s chance to prove its value as a bridge builder with the South Pacific

Readers may recall I have long advocated Australia using sport as bridge builder with the South Pacific and do it in a way China can't replicate.

This Sunday rugby league will have a unique opportunity to illustrate just that when the Australian PM's 13 play the PNG PM's 13 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

The death last week of the distinguished AFL administrator Dr Alan Aylett reminded me that it has only been in the last 40 years or so that Australia's major sporting organisations have been seeking to match the arts and theatre when it comes to seeking government funding.

In the 1960s and 70s the arts secured massive federal and state funding whereas cricket, rugby league, union and other major sports had to rely on cigarette companies and breweries for funding.

The preeminent award in rugby league used to be the Rothmans Medal with guests at the end of season count leaving with a carton, or more, of fags, each.

The world has changed since then and the door has been well and truly opened for tobacco sponsorship to be replaced by government funding. Dr Aylett helped form the Australian Confederation of Sport with rugby league's distinguished administrator, the late Ron McAuliffe, with the specific goal of lobbying governments for funding.

In the South Pacific, and especially PNG, Fiji, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga, sport is a powerful source for unity and national harmony. Yet without exception sport in each of these countries, and beyond, is under-resourced, poorly administered and with an imbalance between men's and women's sport.

When I last checked PM Albanese is attending Sunday matches along with his PNG counterpart, James Marape.

Hopefully before Sunday, the Treasurer, Dr Jim Chalmers, will have told the PM he is happy for the government to go "big and bold" when it comes to funding for men's and women's team sport and individual sport across the region.

If it doesn't go big and bold it should not even bother trying.

And the assistance needs to be across all sports and not just rugby league, AFL or cricket.

The enormous influence of Polynesian and Melanesian players in, for example, the NRL competition speaks for itself. No less than half the graded players in the NRL premiership have a Pacific Island or NZ Maori background.

That needs to be seen as a great opportunity, not a threat.

There is also a strong Pacific Islands presence in rugby union and a growing one in cricket.

The last federal government was far too timid and tentative when it came to funding sport in the region.

Rugby league has a great opportunity to lead the way this weekend, something the Queensland Rugby League has been doing with success for some years. A PNG team, the Hunters, takes part in the Queensland Cup competition.

In looking at how to develop assistance the federal government would do well to discard what DFAT suggests, and engage with the major sporting bodies and business, on working together to really give impetus to the sporting links.

It will be complex. There is a need for coaching, scholarships, administrators as well as facility development. And more.

And it can't be done for a few hundred thousand dropped here and there. It will take millions.

When it comes to funding, I'm reminded of the first real success story when it came to funding via the private sector of sport in PNG.

In 1989-1990 the closure of the Bougainville copper mine effectively took away one third of National Government revenue.

Prime Minister Namaliu consulted with the South Pacific Games federation Chairman, the late Sir Anthony Siaguru, on how the private sector might replace government funding.

The late Bruce Flynn and I were tasked with developing a corporate sponsorship program.

We quickly determined it could be done if the government would offer a "double taxation" deduction facility to one major corporate from each industry sector - such as one mining, one banking, one brewery and so on.

The deal was that any potential sponsor who had government concerns could raise them with PM Namaliu and relevant ministers.

As I recall the target was K35 million - and we had just six months to do it! The rest is history. We succeeded.

Times have changed since then, but I sense the private sector is as keen as ever to engage with the sports, and governments, of the region in strengthening sporting links with our immediate region.

Over to you PM Albanese and Foreign Minister Wong. This is an opportunity to make a real and enduring difference!