With the date of the Australian federal election expected to be called soon (Prime Minister Howard declared he wouldn’t announce the date last week because it was Grand Final week in the Australian Football League and the National Rugby League), here is an interesting story by Josh Gordon of The Age newspaper in Melbourne.
The Age has estimated that the Federal Government has promised at least $129 million in funding for sport-related matters, and the Federal Opposition has promised at least $32 million. To put this in context, the AFL (the most popular league in Australia) generated about $270 million in revenue in 2007; though many of the election promises relate to funding for capital works (including plans to maintain the water supply to sporting ovals through the massive drought gripping this nation).
