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.