No sports for you. Sports and arts organisations have been told by the government not to hold sporting carnivals or festivals in remote areas to avoid distracting indigenous children from turning up to school. In a letter signed by Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion and Education Minister Christopher Pyne, sports and arts organisations as well as state and territory governments are told the measure is part of Closing the Gap between indigenous and non-indigenous school attendance by 2018. The letter says “it is important that school is not unintentionally undermined by other activities including sports carnivals, visiting celebrities, and festivals that can result in students being away from school for lengthy periods of time”. The letter also says that there are now clauses in funding agreements “to ensure that funded activities contribute to improving school attendance objectives and avoid adverse impacts upon school attendance”.