TRANSCRIPT:
I rise today to speak on the State Sporting Legislation Amendment Bill 2024, a bill that we do not oppose. This piece of legislation is largely uncontroversial, with several housekeeping changes being made to existing acts. They include the ANZAC Day Act 1958, the Kardinia Park Stadium Act 2016, the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Act 1985, the Melbourne Cricket Ground Act 2009, the Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Act 1985 and the State Sport Centres Act 1994. While this piece of legislation is largely set to deliver housekeeping changes and administrative updates, sport is still a matter that is deserving of some debate in this place, particularly when it comes to the condition of our regional sporting clubs and the support that they require.
To start on a positive, I want to congratulate the Longwood Football Netball Club and club president Ricki Shiner on their recent funding windfall. The club is set to receive just under $700,000, which will allow the club to finally complete their long-awaited female-friendly change room upgrades. The funding comes through the Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund alongside club and council funding. This fund was established to deliver projects in regional towns following Labor’s shambolic failure to deliver the 2026 Commonwealth Games, and it is pleasing to see some of this finally reaching my electorate. While I have been advocating for this for the last couple of years, I have been on Ricki Shiner’s frequent caller list, with weekly calls advocating to make sure that I am raising it here in Parliament, so I genuinely am thrilled for the community that we were able to pull this off.
The project in Longwood will include a change room area with adjoining toilets and showers, umpire change facilities with an administration area and a publicly accessible all-abilities bathroom with ramp access. Building female-friendly change rooms will be of great benefit to not just the local sporting club but visiting teams and the entire community. Improving accessibility for women in sport is a crucial part of growing participation and increasing the health, wellbeing, safety and comfort of girls and women across our region. This project has been the result of dedication and perseverance by all involved, and I do look forward to seeing the benefits this project brings to our region. I have been incredibly proud to advocate for, sponsor and support this club; answer the countless calls from Ricki; and write letters of support to the local council, encouraging them to apply for the Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund on Longwood’s behalf.
Our local sports clubs are providing people with a strong sense of community and belonging and an active lifestyle, and they deserve all the support that they can get. Unfortunately they are not always so lucky to receive help from this government. Many of our region’s clubs are still in desperate need of new and fit-for-purpose equipment, as well as amenities that can best serve our communities. While I am thrilled that Longwood was the beneficiary of this grant funding, many other deserving projects were not even considered.
In Euroa the Memorial Oval sought upgrades to allow for improved female facilities critical to the growth of their female clubs, but this never progressed in the funding process. In Violet Town it was a similar story: proposals to upgrade the netball surfaces did not receive funding, despite a detailed and beneficial proposal that would help improve the conditions for local women and girls that are seeking to take their sporting career to the next level. In Rushworth, despite considerable advocacy, their bowls club was sadly not chosen for much-needed upgrades to their surface. I do want to thank Sid Sprague and Jean Sprague for all they did to advocate for improved facilities, and I remain committed to making sure we get the results that this club deserves. Seymour Football Netball Club was also ignored for funding, as was one in Murchison. Seymour Football Netball Club players were at the forefront when the floods hit our community in October 2022, sandbagging local businesses and protecting our community. It is necessary that this club have adequate facilities to play the game that they love and support our community in health and wellbeing. It is a similar case for Murchison and Toolamba. It is the heartbeat of the community, with players, volunteers and support coming from right across the Goulburn Valley to cheer on their team. But to ensure that this club keeps kicking goals, it desperately needs major upgrades to the facilities.
It is a shame that it seems there is only room to fund one thing at the time under this government, and while I welcome funding at Longwood, many of our neighbouring clubs continue to struggle. When you invest in our sporting clubs, you invest in the health and wellbeing of our communities. While it is disappointing that these clubs missed out on funding, I will be back again to advocate for them when new opportunities arise.
When it comes to other grants available, I was pleased to see four local sporting clubs among the 400 selected statewide in round 2 of the Victorian sporting clubs grant program, following on from the nine recipients recognised in round 1. Euroa Junior Football Netball Club, North Eastern Archers in Benalla, Pyalong Netball Club and Rushworth Football Netball Club all received minor funding boosts in this round. These funds, mostly around $1000, allow for clubs to produce uniforms and buy crucial equipment for their facilities. Round 1 recipients included the Benalla Scout Group, Avenel Bowling Club, Broadford Cricket Club, Heathcote Cricket Club, Nagambie Bowls Club, Samaria Suns Sports Club, Tabilk Junior Football Club, Kilmore Junior Football Club and Nagambie Lakes Sailing Club. It is fantastic to have such a diverse range of sporting groups selected, all dedicated to bringing down the costs of being involved in sport.
With the cost of living pinching household budgets, now more than ever it is great to see community groups sourcing initiatives to make sport easier and more accessible for everyone. I hope these grants will work to remove barriers and boost engagement in our vibrant regional sporting scene by increasing participation. These grants are not always available. Young athletes have come to rely on the generosity of our local communities and local initiatives such as the Benalla Young Sportsperson Trust. It is a privilege to have been associated with this program, a program that supports young people to go on and achieve their dreams, bridging the divide between small-town sports and the major leagues. In past years this trust has provided funding to elite junior athletes, helping cover costs that could potentially be a barrier preventing them from reaching the heights that they are capable of.
For our regional communities, sporting clubs and the volunteers that support them are a crucial part of the local fabric, and it has been so disheartening to see them ignored by this government for so long. The cancellation of the Commonwealth Games was a slap in the face for regional communities across the state, and the need for more funding at a local level remains a major issue. Many of the clubs I have mentioned today have been campaigning for years to get these upgrades, and despite some receiving funding, the vast majority remain in desperate need of support. These are clubs that have been regularly overlooked at budget time and are often forgotten about when it comes to grant opportunities, but this has not stopped them from being incredibly determined and remaining a crucial meeting place for so many in our towns. Our local sport clubs are providing people with a strong sense of community and belonging and an active lifestyle, and they deserve all the support that they can get.