Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the few minutes available to me I would like to talk about collaboration and how in our communities it is very hard to get things done individually. In communities you need to work with a whole range of people to get good results and outcomes for the people you represent.

I was delighted to read the latest unemployment figures in my electorate and to see the unemployment rate in Dunkley has fallen again. It was a key issue when I was elected in 1996. Our best export from our community was often young and talented people leaving to go somewhere else to find an opportunity to gain a job. Thankfully, we have turned that around. There is still work to be done, but the most recent figures, from the March 2006 quarter, show that the unemployment rate in Dunkley is down to 5.3 per cent, down from 5.7 per cent in the December 2005 quarter. There is still work to be done, but that is a remarkable improvement compared to where it was in 1996.

So that is a collaboration with the private sector through the work that the government is doing in nurturing a pro-investment, pro-employment environment. It is also a great credit to the training providers, to those providing the development services for our labour force and to the employees and employers coming together to make those opportunities a part of our community in increasing numbers.

On the topic of collaboration, I recently was able to point to the work we are doing to pursue a regional aquatic and wellness centre. It is not just a pool; it is more than a pool. The idea was born out of a collaboration between me, Monash University and Frankston City Council. It has seen the Commonwealth commit an initial $2½ million towards the project back in December, and a further $2.5 million given priority status in the next funding round, if we can get the other partners to come forward to develop this nation-leading, new-era aquatic health and wellness centre. I would like to congratulate Frankston City councillor Alistair Wardle his recent bid to urge the council to allocate some money towards the project. There seemed to be support for the project, although the council is not quite ready to make the funding commitment. But that is an indication that there is support building, and I would urge the council to get behind the project.

But where I think most encouragement is needed is with the state government. I welcome the response of the state Minister for Sport and Recreation, Justin Madden, to my urgings to him to get behind the proposal. He rightly recognised that it is an exciting project that will address an important gap in the provision of aquatic facilities in Melbourne. He urged the council to make a further funding application after earlier bids had been unsuccessful. I hope the local state members of parliament can get behind this project, in the spirit of collaboration in outcomes for our community, to see the state government play its part. We are mindful of the fact that a recent $17 million aquatic centre in neighbouring Casey attracted a $5 million contribution from the state. On a gram for gram, apples for apples basis, I hope the state will see its way clear to contributing at least $7 million towards this Frankston based project of regional significance and benefit to get the project moving.

It is my great pleasure to announce another collaboration: the Commonwealth will again be providing support for a community project through the Regional Partnerships program—$440,000 to the Mornington District Basketball Association. It is a contribution to a more than $2.2 million project to establish a multipurpose three-court stadium in Mornington, in the south of the Dunkley electorate. It is a great credit to Mark Vines and all the team at the Mornington District Basketball Association and to Gary Ledson, the principal at the Mornington Secondary College, to get the resources together—more than $1¾ million of co-funding, including the $440,000 from the Commonwealth, which will see this much needed facility established and under way very shortly. So there is much excitement around that. People are not just bouncing balls; they are bouncing themselves! They are very keen to get that project moving with great urgency.

In the last minute available to me, I would like to touch on one other project that requires a collaboration. This is the Frankston Safe Boat Harbour. Those people who are not blessed to be part of the Greater Melbourne-Port Phillip community might not know that Frankston is the Riviera of Melbourne. It is a mode, a node, a focal centre for aquatic and marine activities, but there are very poor boating facilities there. When you get a north-westerly blowing, it can be very dangerous to get your boat to safety and your crew and passengers safely on land. This safe boat harbour project seeks to address that, but it needs people to step up. There are works that are core state government responsibilities and a contribution is needed. I am hopeful that the Commonwealth can play a positive role, but it does need a collaboration. This is an important regional infrastructure project, and we should all get behind it because it might be our last chance to do something meaningful of this kind for our community.

Question agreed to.