Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If there's one thing I'm proud of in my time so far as the member for Dunkley, it is delivering—in particular, delivering for our young people and ensuring they have the best facilities and services possible. I do this particularly as the youngest representative in the government to ensure that our young people are engaged in positive activities in education, work, sport and the community and so that they have the best chances to achieve their best in life. It's so important that we keep investing, for example, in local sporting clubs and community groups so that we can make sure everyone has access to quality facilities, no matter where they live. Investing in our sporting facilities helps our local clubs grow while giving our communities better access to facilities for a longer period of time.

So I was very proud to recently announce two major funding commitments in Seaford, at RF Miles Recreation Reserve, and Langwarrin, at Lloyd Park. Both of these announcements involve budgeted federal funding. That means they aren't election promises and they won't depend on an election to go ahead. This money is being delivered by the federal Liberal-Nationals government and is available now.

The commitment of $3 million in budgeted federal Liberal-Nationals government funding for Lloyd Park in Langwarrin is the biggest individual commitment ever seen at Lloyd Park. It is fantastic for the Langwarrin community as a whole. I'm very proud to have worked with the federal government to have secured these funds. This project will see Lloyd Park redeveloped for the benefit of local community groups, including the Langwarrin football, netball, cricket and tennis clubs, as well as the Langwarrin Scouts. I partnered with the Liberal member for Hastings, Neale Burgess, who was recently re-elected, on this project and who had secured an extra $3 million from an elected Liberal state government. Unfortunately, they weren't elected, meaning this funding has been lost, leaving just our federal funding of $3 million still on the table. But I still look forward to working with council and the clubs to deliver this project and to advocating for state Labor to also come to the table.

This project will also encourage greater participation and attendance to the ground and provide a local hub for the wider Langwarrin community to enjoy. The redevelopment will see the construction of new, state-of-the-art multipurpose facilities, including new sporting and social rooms overlooking both ovals. It will include new netball courts, seating, lighting, shade sails, a car park reconfiguration and a playground. New male and female change rooms and amenities will also be built to support the growth in female sporting participation and enable all sporting codes, along with Scouts, to be able to access and use the facilities at appropriate times. It is my hope that the state Labor government will match the commitment that had been made by the state Liberals in the Victorian election and fund the missing $3 million to give the Lloyd Park community certainty the project will be built. I also invite Frankston City Council to lock in their part of the funding as well to ensure that construction can get underway.

Last week I was also proud to announce to the Seaford community that the federal Liberal-Nationals government would provide a budgeted $2.6 million for RF Miles Recreation Reserve to join the earlier contribution of $300,000 I secured in the past. This commitment comes on the back of months of strong advocacy for the RF Miles Recreation Reserve. I must acknowledge, despite the fact she wasn't elected, the significant advocacy around this project by the liberal candidate for Carrum, Donna Bauer. Unfortunately, she didn't get up, but our budgeted federal funding of $2.6 million for this project remains on the table. Our budgeted federal funding is the last piece of the puzzle completing funding for this project, combined with state-level funding, council funding and LXRA compensation money in play. This is a great opportunity for Seaford and for the netball, football and cricket clubs. I am proud to support this project.

This funding ensures the delivery of the new multipurpose sports pavilion and netball courts at RF Miles Recreation Reserve in Seaford, benefiting the Seaford football, netball and cricket clubs. This is a great win for local footballers, netballers and cricketers, both male and female, boys and girls, and the wider Seaford community. Again, this $2.6 million of budgeted federal Liberal funding is available now. It doesn't rely on a federal election. That means we can start with the project as soon as possible. The federal Liberal-Nationals government is delivering for the locals in Dunkley, in Seaford and Langwarrin, for example, in the two projects that I've raised this evening, but I am also delivering for various clubs, community groups and others across the electorate. I look forward to seeing these clubs and community groups expand even further due to getting the facilities they deserve.

House adjourned at 20:00

Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

took the chair at 10:30.