Federal Member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters launched a petition to save live telecasts of WNBL games at Bendigo Spirit's home game on Saturday.
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Ms Chesters is calling on the federal government and the ABC to restore the broadcasts, which will be discontinued after the current season.
She said her small team of volunteers had collected 380 signatures on the night and would again be canvassing support at the Spirit's last two home games of the season in February.
"It was great because it was packed last night, almost a full house, so it wasn’t just Bendigo Spirit fans who signed the petition but also a number of parents of young players who were in Bendigo for a tournament," she said.
"There was parent after parent saying, 'I’m a father of daughters, of course I’m going to sign'."
Ms Chesters said the campaign was important for Bendigo as a sporting town and women's sport in general.
"I believe it fits well within the ABC's charter to help promote and build an audience for the WNBL," she said.
"It's also what you want to see your national broadcaster doing and that’s what's so disappointing about the funding cuts."
An ABC spokesman said the move was one of a range of efficiency measures introduced to deliver substantial savings in response to budget cuts imposed by the government.
"Unfortunately these cuts inevitably impact content and one of the savings measures proposed by the ABC is the cessation of state-based local sports coverage in favour of 'green and gold' sporting events," he said.
“With the ABC facing declining audience interest in local sport competitions and some codes chasing commercial opportunities, ABC Television is revising its sports strategy to ensure the most cost-efficient use of resources and optimal audience impact.”
A spokesman for Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he was unable to comment on individual programming decisions made by the ABC as it is an independent organisation.