Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing and Mental Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over January, I had the great opportunity to go around and visit some of the community organisations in my electorate that have been funded under the Stronger Communities Program. I think that all members in this place will agree that the commitment from local community organisations is remarkable. They are mostly volunteers, who put in so much time, energy and effort to make a success of these local organisations for their communities. The first one that I visited was Anzac Park at Lindisfarne. They are receiving just $5,742.50, but this will allow them to upgrade their kitchen facilities so that they are able to host functions and events to generate more income for the sporting clubs that use that facility. The cricket, junior football and football clubs of Lindisfarne all use that one facility. It is owned and managed by council and council also puts a lot into that facility, but this very small grant will make a very big difference to the clubs and the events and functions that they're able to hold for members and for the public to raise revenue. So I was really pleased to be able to do that and I know that the grant will be used really well by the local community.

Another grant was made to the iconic Wooden Boat Centre, in Franklin, in my electorate. Franklin is a very small town, a village, on the Huon River in the south of my electorate. The Working Waterfront Association is the body that has applied for the grant for $13,220. This is for much-needed repairs of the roof. This is a master craft place, very unique in Australia, where master craftsmen teach people how to make wooden boats in ancient Huon pine and celery top pine—actually handcrafting vessels in my electorate. It is remarkable to go and see the work that is being done, the number of volunteers and the number of people who are using this facility in my electorate, and I know that it has great support from all parties in Tasmania because it is such a unique facility. It has so many community members coming through. The grant will repair the original workshop's rusty and leaking roof and ensure that the centre is able to go on and be useful for some time. At the moment, they've got all sorts of things trying to catch the water coming through the roof. It is a very old building and this well mean a lot to them. They've already opened up the facility to allow tourists to come through. They're a getting a large number of visitors now to the Wooden Boat Centre. There are also people coming from all over the country and all over the world, including some doctors on sabbatical, to learn how to build a craft boat, by hand, with Tasmania's ancient timbers. It's a remarkable organisation in a remarkable part of my electorate and I'm very pleased to have supported these grants.