Speeches
Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Launch of Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Centre for Women’s Sport
Rod and I warmly welcome you to Government House for the presentation of certificates to the 2024/2025 graduates of the Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Centre for Women’s Sport Education Program.
Unfortunately, Marj is not able to be here today. I told her when we spoke recently that in her absence there would be no restraint on me mentioning her many achievements, which I will do shortly.
But first, congratulations to our 51 graduates. The results speak for themselves:
- 80 per cent of you now rate yourselves as highly skilled in the modules
- 40 per cent have advanced to more senior roles, and
- 65 per cent have gained the confidence to take on increased responsibility.
That's real progress for women's sport in South Australia.
We have seen the profile of many women’s sports rising recently – in Australia and globally.
Crowds have embraced our AFLW teams, the Australian Women's Cricket team, and, of course, the Matildas.
It is also heartening to see investment in women’s basketball in South Australia, with Adelaide Lightning securing new minority owners making their future more certain.[1]
Internationally, tournaments like the Indian Women's Premier League and Rugby Women's World Cup are generating global interest.
And women are increasingly represented off field, commentating with deep knowledge and expertise.
Progress has been made – it is heartening that AFLW salaries are rising from $46,000 last year to $82,000 by 2027.[2]
But gaps remain.
The gender pay gap in sport remains considerable.
Many professional sportswomen must supplement their income with employment outside their sport, encroaching on their training and leisure time.
And women are still underrepresented in a range of roles across sports. In Australia, women still make up just 22 per cent of sport CEOs, 36 per cent of coaches, and only 19 per cent of coaches at the Paris Olympics.[3]
Which is exactly why this Centre exists – to empower and connect athletes, coaches, officials, administrators, board members and volunteers to reach their full potential.
We need only look to our Centre's naming patron for inspiration.
Marjorie Jackson-Nelson has achieved so much – as a devoted advocate for Leukaemia research spurred by her beloved husband, Peter’s illness and, of course, as a much-loved South Australian Governor.
And, of course, she is a legend in Australian sporting history.
In the 1950s, Marj set the world on fire, winning two Olympic Gold Medals at Helsinki – the first Australian woman to win Olympic gold in track and field.
This was an era when women could not compete in events of more than 200 metres at an Olympic Games because it was considered too strenuous.
She also claimed seven Commonwealth Games gold medals and set 13 world records.
And Marj, the fastest woman on the planet, did it all while buying her own shoes and starting blocks. Her first pair of running shoes was second-hand men's runners stuffed with paper.
Truly an inspiration for all of us.
We can only imagine what other records she could have set with more support and fewer gender limits.
We have come so far since Marj’s Olympic era.
Progress is constant … but we need to keep chipping away so that women’s opportunities in sport continue to be amplified.
Lifting representation and achievement at all levels of sport – through playing, leading and contributing – is the mission of the Centre for Women's Sport.
And you graduates are leading that change.
Thank you to Sport SA, the working group, and everyone involved for their commitment to this Centre.
To our graduates: I look forward to watching you make your mark in sport, here in South Australia and beyond.
[1] A New Era for the Adelaide Lightning