King Electorate Sporting Clubs

Ms LUETHEN (King) (16:16): Since March 2018, I have been working closely and resolutely with sporting clubs and councils across King to offer my support, to keep abreast of high-priority needs and to help our clubs achieve their aspirations. This collaboration with sporting clubs and councils has so far resulted in over $920,000 worth of funding being delivered to King clubs from the Marshall Liberal government since I was elected in March 2018.

This year, South Australia is being led into a sporting golden era with the further allocation of $35 million in the 2020-21 state budget for new community sporting and recreational infrastructure. These programs are designed to achieve the outcome of more and more people participating in sport. Pleasingly, these successful funding projects are creating jobs for South Australians while building what matters for our sporting communities.

Excitingly, in the past fortnight I have written a number of support letters for our King sporting clubs that have developed excellent plans to upgrade core infrastructure and our community hubs. On the flipside, I have been champing at the bit in my regular meetings with City of Playford and City of Tea Tree Gully to speed up and finalise upgrade plans and get submissions from councils for state government funding to go towards the Harpers Field and McGilp Recreation Park projects.

Our Marshall Liberal government has delivered $350 million into sporting facilities since coming into government. Over the next two years, we will see more than $44 million available across our sporting infrastructure grant programs. We have not seen this funding go into the major projects at McGilp or Harpers Field to date despite great eagerness from me, from the Golden Grove Football Club, Golden Grove Cricket Club and the One Tree Hill Sports Association.

Fortunately, last week I followed both councils up again and I am pleased to say they have both made progress on making submissions for matched state government funding to deliver the important local plans which would benefit so many people and clubs in our King community. I have been meeting with the Playford CEO, Sam Green, regularly and I have found it quite difficult to get support from the Playford council to make a submission for our state's sports funding programs for the benefit of One Tree Hill residents, but I am so glad to say we are starting to finally make some progress.

I will be actively asking for Kookaburra, Brumby, Billies and One Tree Hill Soccer Club members and supportive local community members to get behind our clubs' proposals, to loudly demonstrate these projects are a priority and are long overdue and that we need to work together to make these upgrades happen.

Our local community has been outstanding in working together to make important projects happen in King. Just look at the new Golden Grove Road, a fantastic community-backed project. You signed my petition and now we have had $50 million delivered to make this project happen. To get behind the upgrades for Harpers Field and the upgrade to McGilp and to be kept up to date on the progress of these funding submissions, sign up and support our projects on my Paula Luethen website.

We are always stronger together. Everyone living in King should be very proud because together in King we are really making things happen. At the SA Districts Netball Association (SADNA), we have seen the completion of stages 1 and 2 of the SADNA upgrades delivered, and now the 20-court upgrade is almost complete. Together, we have turned these courts blue. If you get a moment, visit Tilley Reserve and check out the new clubroom being built for the Golden Grove Tennis Club.

When I visited last week, we had young players practising from One Tree Hill, Greenwith and Golden Grove. They are all dedicated and talented players and some are number one in the state. The players and their parents were excited by the Marshall Liberal government investment in our new local facilities. I look forward to keeping the community updated as further progress is made on our sporting club projects.

Thank you to Minister Corey Wingard for continuing to visit our clubs to hear firsthand the future needs and aspirations of my local members. Thanks to every club and committee in King for all you do to volunteer your time to build these plans, to collaborate with the state government, sporting associations, councils and with me as your local member to build the best facilities for our local community. I look forward to working in collaboration with all stakeholders to deliver these upgrades in Harpers Field, McGilp and across the King electorate.