Category: History
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Short History of Australian Elite Coaches Transitioning to High Performance Management
By Greg Blood The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) prior to the cessation of sports programs in 2013 frequently facilitated AIS coaches in transferring into its high performance management areas. It should be remembered that the inaugural AIS Director Don Talbot had an extensive swimming coaching career in Australia, Canada and the United States prior…
australiansportreflections
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Sport and Federal Politics – Importance of Relationship Building by National Sports Organisations
By Greg Blood With a new Federal Parliament under way, it is important that national sports organisations educate and lobby existing and new Parliamentarians regarding their sport and its needs. It is not enough to just work with the Federal Government’s primary sport agency – Australian Sports Commission. The 47th Federal Parliament commenced on 26…
australiansportreflections
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History of Federal Ministers of Sport and Their Shadows : Their Tenure and Significant Contribution – Updated February 2026
By Greg Blood The development of sport in Australia since 1972 has been significantly progressed by Federal Ministers of Sport and at times Shadow Ministers of Sport. Listed are Federal Ministers of Sport and their Shadows since 1972. The objective of this list was to look at the longevity of Ministers and highlighting significant policies…
australiansportreflections
Abbott Government, Australian Institute of Sport, Australian Sports Commission, Author – Greg Blood, Fraser Government, Gillard Government, Government Policy, Hawke Government, History, Howard Government, Keating Government, Morrison Government, Politics, Rudd Government, Turnbull Government, Whitlam Government -
The Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games Was Rocket Fuel For Athletes With A Disability…The Spectacular Success of Sydney Became a Turning Point for the Paralympic Movement
By Greg Hartung AO History of Australian Sport Policy Series: Part 26 Transformation The Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games has been described as the “benchmark” Games for the Paralympic Movement. This is true in many respects, but not all. Coming off a low base from the Atlanta Games four years earlier, the Sydney Games were undoubtedly…
australiansportreflections
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The Fight To Be Heard! How Athletes With A Disability Made Their Way In Australian Sport…defeat was never an option for our pioneers
History of Australian Sport Policy series: Part 25 By Greg Hartung AO Partners in the long campaign The pioneers who advanced the interests of people with disabilities in sport during the 1970s and early 1980s were the members of the government-appointed National Committee on Sport and Recreation for the Disabled (NCSRD) and the non-government Australian…
australiansportreflections
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Support For Athletes With A Disability: From The Ground Up …The Years Of Struggle To Be Taken Seriously
History of Australian Sport Policy Series: Part 24 By Greg Hartung AO Only one way to go Assistance for athletes with a disability has regularly featured in reports and government policy discussions. Whether this has always translated into positive outcomes is another matter altogether. This part of the sporting world was never as administratively robust…
australiansportreflections
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Paralympians Join the Mainstream – Australian Paralympic Committee Brings in Reform Across Sport
History of Australian Sport Policy Series: Part 23 By Greg Hartung AO “Mainstreaming” was a fundamental and necessary policy reform on the long journey to win durable outcomes for athletes with a disability and the Paralympic movement. Designed and promoted by the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) in the period before and after the Sydney 2000…
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Crusade to Attract Non-Government Cash to the Aid of Sport – and High Hopes for the Australian Sports Foundation
The Foundation was established as an essential part of the Australian Sports Commission History of Australian Sport Policy Series: Part 22 By Greg Hartung AO Australian Sports Aid Foundation: the origin The Parliamentary enquiry into sport funding, chaired by Labor’s Leo McLeay, threatened to turn the case against the introduction of a Sports Foundation promised…
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The Idea of an Australian National Sports Lottery Has a Long – and Disappointing – History …but History has Proved No Impediment to Old Arguments in the Quest for the Non-government Dollar
History of Australian sport policy series: Part 21 By Greg Hartung AO A long search for El Dorado Governments and national sport organisations have for decades longed for a source of reliable funds independent of the federal budget. Ray Groom, Tasmanian Liberal and former AFL footballer, became responsible for sport policy when he succeeded Kevin…
australiansportreflections
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A Forced Marriage – the Australian Sports Commission and the Australian Institute Of Sport Tie The Knot
History of Australian Sport Policy Series: Part 20 By Greg Hartung AO The Merger As forced marriages go, the “merger” of the Australian Sports Commission and the Australian Institute of Sport in 1988 produced a reasonable administrative outcome, albeit not a lot of love. It was described as a merger of the two agencies but…