Nationals Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland was joined by Shadow Minister Brad Rowswell in Seymour on Thursday, with the pair discussing the urgent need for upgrades to the facilities at the Seymour Football Netball Club, secondary college school, and the CFA.
Mr Rowswell was invited to Seymour by Ms Cleeland as part of a regional budget tour, where crucial projects across the Euroa electorate were visited and discussed to highlight the tangible benefits of regional investment.
Seymour Football Netball Club is in dire need of an upgrade, with both the changerooms and function spaces needing improvements from their current, outdated facilities.
Upgrades to Seymour’s facilities has been a long-time coming, with The Nationals’ first raising the topic as part of the 2014 election, with the Labor Government failing to commit to funding the project.
Ms Cleeland stressed the importance of having improved facilities for sporting clubs due to their significance to local regional communities.
“Often our local sporting infrastructure doesn’t match the skills of our country athletes or the dedication of the tireless volunteers that keep clubs running,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Better facilities mean more participation, more spectators, and a boost for local economies. These clubs really are the lifeblood of our communities and deserve great facilities.”
Shadow Treasurer Brad Rowswell said projects in Seymour were being stifled by the State’s financial emergency caused by Labor Government’s ineffective spending.
“We see this Government pay $10 million each day to pay back interest on the state’s debt,” Mr Rowswell said.
“Projects like the ones I’ve seen in Seymour could be transformed if this money was spent effectively.
“Regional communities are the ones missing out.”
Upgrades to sporting facilities across the electorate shaped a large part of Ms Cleeland and The Nationals’ campaign commitments, with Seymour joining neighbouring towns of Murchison, Longwood, Violet Town, and Benalla as locations put forward for an upgrade during the election.
The Seymour CFA is another project requiring upgrades to their facilities and have been maintaining their advocacy for a new site in town to ensure they can continue to serve and protect the community in a timely manner.
The current site on Gordon Crescent poses significant challenges for the brigade, impacting turn out times and creating traffic chaos on the busy dual lane Anzac Avenue.
“Bart and his amazing volunteers at the Seymour CFA have been raising the need for a new site in town for an incredibly long time,” Ms Cleeland said.
“On my last visit here, I saw the difficulties that their location presents – including needing to make three point turns to get the trucks out of the shed and the absolute nightmare of needing to reverse trucks back into the shed.
“Once the trucks are out and ready to go, they turn onto Anzac Avenue and if they’re turning left the truck can’t complete a full turn without facing oncoming traffic and crossing the median strip.
“This is a serious traffic and safety hazard and a constant concern for volunteers answering emergency calls.
The brigade has been failing to meet target turn out times due to the physical constraints of the facility.
“The volunteers here are doing an incredible job, but on paper they’re missing the mark purely because of the poor location of the facility,” Ms Cleeland said.
“A new site in town would allow the brigade to build a new facility, eliminate safety issues and smash their target times.
“It is wonderful to have Melbourne-based Members of Parliament visit the region to understand the issues facing the entire state. I’m glad the Shadow Treasurer has had the opportunity to see these issues firsthand and get an understanding of the issues faced by those in regional communities.”
