Regional Sports Clubs

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (16:15): What is the role of the sports club? For some, it is about health and fitness. For others, it is about competition, about trophies and being one's best. For others, it is about the sports they love—about playing, watching, barracking and cheering. For regional sports clubs, it is all this but so much more. Sports clubs in the country are community hubs. They are places where people gather on a regular basis to socialise and spend time together. They are a tangible sign that they are a community and they have a future.

Because of the importance of sports clubs in the country, the unnecessary cuts made by the Marshall Liberal government to the Female Facilities Program are particularly heartless. The former Labor government had fully funded a total of $24 million to upgrade female facilities in sports clubs around the state. I emphasise: this program was fully funded. This Liberal government has not just ended future rounds of the Female Facilities Program but has also cut round 3, which took applications until April and was expected to announce by 31 July which clubs would receive grants.

This cut will prevent the proposed upgrade of the Kalangadoo War Memorial Park and Community Sports Club, a club that has over 500 members, with roughly half of them being female. The club's committee has been working to provide a safe and inclusive facility, to ensure future development of the club and increase overall participation in sports, including football, netball, tennis, bowling, cricket and women's football.

As I mentioned, clubs were expecting to hear the outcomes of round 3 funding in July. Instead, on Monday this week the club learned that the funding had been scrapped altogether. It is fair to say, they felt quite devastated. They had put in a huge amount of work on their grant application and, following feedback in previous rounds, were quietly confident that their bid would be successful.

The Wattle Range Council had committed $65,000 to the project and the club was seeking $313,000 from the Female Facilities Program. When I visited the club a couple of weeks ago, members remarked to me that they were embarrassed when they hosted opposing teams, given the poor condition of their clubrooms. Champion netballer Jade Peacock told me that some of the players get changed in their cars as their change rooms are so inadequate. I was talking to the club president, Andre Carlson, on Monday. He described the funding cut as a real kick in the guts. This is not good enough.

The Marshall Liberal government like to throw around the slogan 'Regions matter', but when it comes to delivering realistic support for regional sports clubs they are absent. The Kalangadoo War Memorial Park and Community Sports Club is a growing club and is attracting players from around the region, including Millicent and Mount Gambier. They need this money more than ever to help them grow as a club and attract players from all around the South-East. The sports minister, Corey Wingard, has said:

Clubs and councils will be required to contribute at least 50 per cent of the project costs for future funding programs.

This is simply not viable for many clubs and many councils. Essentially, he is saying the local council must stump up more money to fund this project. This is rather ironic, really. After all, the Liberal Party claimed before the election that they would not cost-shift onto local government. In fact, the Treasurer, then the shadow treasurer, wrote to Wattle Range Council on 13 February this year and stated, 'A Marshall Liberal government will not continue cost shifting to local councils.'

The fact is, neither the council nor the Kalangadoo War Memorial Park and Community Sports club can afford to fund 50 per cent of this project on their own. I have campaigned for the funding to be guaranteed and will continue to pressure the Marshall Liberal government to reverse these cuts and to provide suitable facilities for the local community.