Recreation and Trail Custodians with Sport Organisations?

Attended a breakfast discussion of 'stakeholders' in some recreation areas this week along with the Minister for Sport and Recreation.  One of the activities used words like 'high performance' in a rating scale and in an environment of trying to bring sports groups and recreation/trails epople together to form 'Recreation Custodians' and the like.  Perhaps 'challenge' and 'experience' might have been better options but the intent was good and some good people in the discussion.  A key question of the Minister was whether Liquor and Gaming (his other portfolios) excesses could be applied to a fund to create more healthy (recreational) pastimes in our society. e.g. similar to the Tobacco Tax being used to re-educate smokers and dissuade young people from starting and the Road Trauma Fund which uses funding from fines to improve driver education, road safety campaigns etc.  The tragedy is that the current state government does have the ability to do this at no cost- and with enormous benefits - to taxpayers at even a lowly 1% levy on heavy alcohol usage.  One conclusion I and others made is that the lobbying of the Liquor and Gambling Intergalactic-sized Industries are of sufficient force to make governments 'quake.'  Seems to trivialise democracy really but other countries have been more successful with percentages of transportation funds, Federal Funding and private sponsorships - trails people need to be direct advocates and lobbyists in the cause of keeping future generations healthy by being able to always access the outdoor environment.  The Minister, to be fair, praised the advance of Nature Play - check it out www.natureplaywa.org.au

David Forster - one of 2.2 Million 'custodians' seeking funding from the excessive to those of necessity in recreation -all of us.