Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, as you would be well aware, there is a critical need to upgrade and build new social infrastructure to keep pace with the rapidly-growing population in the outer suburbs, in particular in my constituency of Holt.

Unlike in the inner city of Melbourne, there is not just the same established social and physical infrastructure in the outer south-eastern suburbs. Accordingly, when government grants become available there is a great demand from our community for these infrastructure grant opportunities. Two recent key programs have been put forward by the government which our community has sought funding from—the 2019 Stronger Communities grants program and the 2019 Community Environment Grants Program. In a bipartisan way, I'd like to thank the government for making these funding opportunities available to our constituencies and to constituencies around the country.

Before I speak about these programs, I'd like to thank the selection committee that assisted with the applications for funding. Those people were: Leanne Petrides, Judy Owen, Barry Rogers and Chris Drysdale. These are the members of the selection committee, and they recently met to select six successful grant recipients.

Amongst the successful applicants who are now awaiting departmental approval of these applications, one is the Warneet Motor Yacht Club and public hall, which has applied for funding for new shade sails on the deck outside the yacht club. Mr Speaker, you're looking at me, but that has come into my constituency—there has been a fairly substantial redistribution! I got that from the member for Flinders and I am very grateful to have done so; it's quite a stunning part of the world.

Earlier this month, as the local federal member I was very fortunate to launch the Warneet Sailing Club season. I met some wonderful people who were part of the committee there, and also just looked at it all and enjoyed the weather on the stunning Rutherford Inlet which leads into Westernport Bay. It is a beautiful part of Victoria and it's a part of Victoria that's become part of my constituency. But on a serious note, upgrading the local facilities will be of great value to this local community.

The Cranbourne Bowls Club has applied for funding to purchase equipment, including a brush roller and green-cutting machine. The Cranbourne Bowls Club, as the member for Fremantle would know about his bowling clubs, is significant because it's a community hub. It has a growing membership base, with a lot of people who are shifting into the area and an ageing population. It provides a wonderful facility for people to access, and so they've applied for funding.

The Devon Meadows Football Netball Club has applied for a grant to install lighting for their two netball courts. Netball is a growing sport—again, a lot of young families are shifting into the area. Being able to play games at night through the installation of these lights will be of great value to the club. The Lyndhurst Football and Netball Club has applied for funding to purchase a heating and cooling system, two laptops, fencing for the netball courts and an ice bar for player recovery.

The Cranbourne Public Hall has applied for funding so that the hall can go completely off the grid through installing a solar solution through the roof of the hall. The reduction in energy costs through this transition to renewable energy will make a real difference to the community. The Friends of Cranbourne, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria are hoping to develop a climate watch community trail. Along the guided trail, participants can learn about and monitor the seasonal changes that affect Australia's plants and animals. The community will also be able to assist research through collecting valuable data.

Successful programs under the Community Environment Grants Program include the Cannons Creek Foreshore Reserve Committee, which has applied for funding for a project to stop the erosion of the sensitive inlet foreshore and to preserve and improve the coastal habitat, which is threatened by climate change. The aim of the committee is to build an 80-metre wall consisting of loosely packed 40-centimetre rocks to protect the embankment from the forces of tide and wave action. The new rock wall will last indefinitely, and will be loosely fitted so that a wide range of species will be able to take shelter within the wall.

The Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Park is very famous; a lot of celebrities go there and it gives people from all over the world an opportunity to interface with Australian wildlife, our flora and fauna. It's located in Pearcedale, and it's also applied for a grant. They intend to build a purpose-built aviary to better protect and conserve the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot, which I've actually had the good fortune to hold my hand. It's a very rare bird and a protected species; it's one of only three species of parrot that can and will migrate. If we can work on protecting it, it will be of great value to the community for generations to come. We've also got the Tooradin Foreshore Committee of Management that's applied for a Tooradin mangrove boardwalk and the Healesville to Phillip Island Nature Link has applied for funding as well.

I just wanted to say again: thank you to the government for making this funding available. It is also great to see the incredible community groups that have put in excellent grants that will benefit the community, should they be approved by the department.