Ms THEOPHANOUS (Northcote): My question is to the Minister for Community Sport.

What avenues are available to local government to apply for funding from the state government to support upgrades of their own sports facilities?

The Northcote electorate is fortunate to be home to a great many local sports facilities, from Bill Lawry Oval to Northcote Golf Course, John Cain Memorial Park, the Yarra Bend ovals and the Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

Since 2014, the Andrews Labor government has directed more than $13.2 million in community sport and active recreation infrastructure directly into Darebin to help make improvements to our local sports assets.

This has meant we’ve seen some fantastic improvements to sports facilities and others on the way, like the construction of new outdoor and indoor netball courts at John Cain Memorial Park, a new pavilion and facilities at WH Robinson Reserve, new lighting at Mayer Park and a plan to revitalise Bill Lawry Oval.

Another project currently underway is the complete redevelopment of Darebin council’s Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

Having grown up in the electorate, I have many fond memories of visiting NARC, all the way back to swimming lessons as a child. However, due to its age and maintenance, the facility is tired and no longer fit for purpose.

Back in 2019, I toured the site with Darebin council to discuss the need for redevelopment, and I have worked with council and councillors to support the progress of this important project.

It’s a big one, with a budget of $63.5 million to deliver a 6-star Green Star centre with new indoor and outdoor pools, a health and wellness centre, a splash park, picnic areas and a warm-water pool for exercise and rehabilitation.

I was happy to share the news earlier this year that, on the request of Darebin council and with my support, the Andrews Labor government is backing this project through a $10 million loan via the community sports infrastructure loans scheme. This is the highest amount available under the program.

As construction gets underway on this fantastic project, I’ve also been engaging with council to make sure they do what they can to minimise disruptions to our community and impacts on residents, staff and clubs.

I know that some councils have been able to also secure funding to upgrade aquatic centres through state government grant streams such as the Local Sports Infrastructure Fund.

While Darebin Council has chosen not to take up these opportunities and has not applied for any funding for NARC from any Victorian government community sports infrastructure program, I am pleased that with my support they have applied and been successful on a number of other projects in line with their priorities.

Recently, this has included $2 million in funding towards the construction of the new multisports stadium at John Cain Memorial Park and $3.9 million towards a new Aboriginal Women and Girls Sport and Wellness Centre in partnership with the Aborigines Advancement League in Thornbury.

I look forward to seeing Northcote continue to benefit from investments such as these, and I will continue to provide Darebin council with information about upcoming sports infrastructure grant opportunities and support them to put forward priority applications.

As I understand, these grant rounds are the primary avenue for councils to signal their sports infrastructure priorities to the state government and seek funding contributions for them.

My community is excited about having a brand new Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre that meets the needs of our growing suburbs. With the NARC already budgeted for by Darebin council and a loan contribution from the state government, we are all looking forward to seeing it completed.

It will be great to hear more from the minister about what avenues of funding support are available to local government to improve even more important sports facilities like this one.

Constituency Questions No 6054Go back

Answered

Assembly

59 Parliament First Session

Question

Asked: 7 October 2021

Northcote electorate

Ms Theophanous to ask the Minister for Community Sport —

My question is to the Minister for Community Sport.

What avenues are available to local government to apply for funding from the state government to support upgrades of their own sports facilities?

The Northcote electorate is fortunate to be home to a great many local sports facilities, from Bill Lawry Oval to Northcote Golf Course, to John Cain Memorial Park, the Yarra Bend ovals and the Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

Since 2014, the Andrews Labor government has directed more than $13.2 million in community sport and active recreation infrastructure directly into Darebin to help make improvements to our local sports assets.

This has meant we’ve seen some fantastic improvements to sports facilities and others on the way, like the construction of new outdoor and indoor netball courts at John Cain Memorial Park, a new pavilion and facilities at WH Robinson Reserve, new lighting at Mayer Park and a plan to revitalise Bill Lawry Oval.

Another project currently underway is the complete redevelopment of Darebin council’s Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

Having grown up in the electorate, I have many fond memories of visiting NARC, all the way back to swimming lessons as a child. However, due to its age and maintenance, the facility is tired and no longer fit for purpose.

Back in 2019, I toured the site with Darebin council to discuss the need for redevelopment, and I have worked with council and councillors to support the progress of this important project.

It’s a big one—with a budget of $63.5 million to deliver a 6-star Green Star centre with new indoor and outdoor pools, a health and wellness centre, a splash park, picnic areas and warm-water pool for exercise and rehabilitation.

I was happy to share the news earlier this year that, on the request of Darebin council and with my support, the Andrews Labor government is backing this project through a $10 million loan via the Community and Sports Infrastructure Loans Scheme. This is the highest amount available under the program.

As construction gets underway on this fantastic project, I’ve also been engaging with council to make sure they do what they can to minimise disruptions to our community and impacts on residents, staff and clubs.

I know that some councils have been able to also secure funding to upgrade aquatic centres through state government grant streams such as the Local Sports Infrastructure Fund.

While Darebin Council has chosen not to take up these opportunities and has not applied for any funding for NARC from any Victorian government community sports infrastructure program, I am pleased that with my support they have applied and been successful on a number of other projects in line with their priorities.

Recently, this has included $2 million in funding towards the construction of the new multisports stadium at John Cain Memorial Park and $3.9 million towards a new Aboriginal Women and Girls Sport and Wellness Centre in partnership with the Aboriginal Advancement League in Thornbury.

I look forward to seeing Northcote continue to benefit from investments such as these, and will continue to provide Darebin council with information about upcoming sports infrastructure grant opportunities and support them to put forward priority applications.

As I understand, these grant rounds are the primary avenue for councils to signal their sports infrastructure priorities to the state government and seek funding contributions for them.

My community is excited about having a brand new Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre that meets the needs of our growing suburbs. With the NARC already budgeted for by Darebin council and a loan contribution from the state government, we are all looking forward to seeing it completed.

It will be great to hear more from the minister about what avenues of funding support are available to local government to improve even more important sports facilities like this one.

Answer

Answered: 18 November 2021

I thank the Member for Northcote for her question and for her advocacy for improved community sports infrastructure for her community.

Providing high-quality, accessible community sport and active recreation infrastructure is a key aim of the Andrews Labor Government and is integral to the health and wellbeing of all Victorians. Since 2014, the Andrews Labor Government has invested more than $1.1 billion in community sport and active recreation infrastructure.

This includes the $55 million boost in the 2021-22 State Budget for local sports infrastructure across the state, with a particular focus on providing facilities to encourage participation among women and girls through the popular Female Friendly Facilities Fund.

The 2021-22 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund (LSIF) will invest up to $27 million in new and improved community sports facilities. The Fund supports projects across five dedicated streams: Indoor Stadiums/Aquatic Facilities, Female Friendly Facilities, Community Sports Lighting, Community Facilities, and Planning

The Indoor Stadiums/Aquatics Facilities stream supports new indoor stadiums, redeveloped multi-sport indoor courts and aquatic leisure centres. All Local Government Authorities and Alpine Resort Boards can submit one application each through this stream, requesting up to $2 million.

The LSIF is now open for applications and will close on 7 February 2022, and I encourage Darebin City Council to consider applying. A number of local councils have been supported to deliver aquatic and recreation centre projects through previous rounds of the LSIF, including Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre and Mill Park Leisure Centre.

It is worth noting that Darebin City Council has not made an application in relation to Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre through previous rounds of the LSIF.

In addition, the 2021-22 Community Sports Infrastructure Loans Scheme (CSILS) will support the delivery of additional community sport and active recreation infrastructure by providing a range of organisations access to government guaranteed loans between $500,000 and $10 million. In addition to providing organisations with access to low interest-rate loans, Sport and Recreation Victoria makes interest subsidy payments that effectively halve the interest paid by borrowers – saving organisations significant money and helping to kick-start infrastructure projects.

As the Member has noted, the Government was proud to provide Darebin City Council with a $10 million loan towards the delivery of the Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre project through the previous round of the CSILS.

Further details on all community sports infrastructure programs can be obtained from the Sport and Recreation Victoria website, and I again thank the Member for Northcote for her continued advocacy for community sport.

The Hon. Ros Spence MP

Minister for Community Sport