Despite his job dictating that he remain diplomatic on all issues, Federal Minister for Defence Stephen Smith couldn’t hide his allegiance towards his favourite footy team, the Fremantle Dockers

Coinciding with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which is in town, Mr Smith was on hand at Fremantle Oval today to launch the AFL’s Multicultural All Star Camp and greet young footballers from a range of cultural backgrounds.

Wearing his purple-coloured CHOGM volunteer tie, Smith gave the youngsters some advice on which football team they should aspire to play for.

“I’ve been very pleased to encourage some of those young kids to think about playing for either the Bulldogs of South Fremantle or the Fremantle Dockers,” he said.

The Minister for Defence also spoke of the “two great divides in Perth”, which he jokingly said he hoped to keep away from the international delegates during CHOGM.

“The first great divide is whether you live North of the river or South of the River, and the second great divide is whether you go for the Dockers or the Eagles,” he said.

“For myself, I make no shame of being North of the river and Dockers.”


Driven by the West Australian Football Commission, the Multicultural All Star Camp will run from Friday 21October to Monday 24 October to coincide with the start of the CHOGM Youth Forum.

The camp will include 25 young players from migrant families that have settled in Perth and taken to Australia’s Indigenous game, including footballers from Commonwealth country backgrounds such as Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Lesotho, South Africa and Uganda along with players from the world’s newest country (and applicant to join the Commonwealth) South Sudan.

The four day camp will see a session with Fremantle Dockers assistant coach Michael Prior, AFL Draft Combine skills testing, education sessions on nutrition and fitness, a cultural exchange program with Indigenous AFL ambassadors and a tour of Fremantle Dockers headquarters.

The AFL Multicultural Camp will culminate in a showcase match on Monday October 24 for the ‘CHOGM Cup’ between the Multicultural All Stars and an Indigenous team, before the players will meet and teach the finer points of football to delegates from around the world attending the CHOGM Youth Forum.