Media Release

25 January 2010

Speaker of Australian Parliament Announces “Aussie Rules” Sports Cooperation

The Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, Mr Harry Jenkins, announced funding of A$30,000 from the Australia-Indonesia Institute to the Jakarta Bintangs Australian Football Development Program during an Australia Day Sporting Carnival held on 23 January.

Since 2007 the Australian Football Development Program has been providing a healthy outlet for Indonesian youth to access safe and organised sport outdoors and has helped promote increased cultural awareness through the development of Australian Rules Football in Indonesia.

Through the ongoing support of the Institute and the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development Program, the Jakarta Bintangs has visited hundreds of schools exposing thousands of students to the game.

“Australia’s love for and great aptitude in sport means it is an important provider of sports-related services and this is best demonstrated in community junior sports programs such as the Jakarta Bintangs Australian Football Development Program,” said Australian Ambassador to Indonesia and Patron of the Jakarta Bintangs, Mr Bill Farmer.

Mr Jenkins is visiting Indonesia from 23 to 27 January and will meet with a range of government and parliamentary figures and civic society.

The Australia-Indonesia Institute is an Australian Government initiative which has been promoting the development of people-to-people links between Australia and Indonesia for more than twenty years. The Youth Ambassador’s program is an AusAID initiative to assist young Australians to promote sustainable development and skills exchange in the Asia-Pacific region.

Media Enquiries:
Jenny Dee, Counsellor (Public Affairs) tel. (021) 2550 5290 mob. 0811 187 3175