MS TIERNEY (Western Victoria—Minister for Training and Skills, Minister for Higher Education) (09:49:12): Last weekend I was very pleased to join the Bannockburn community in opening the Bannockburn Victoria Park netball courts.
The completion of two competition-standard netball courts with new lighting plus undercover seating and fencing was made possible by a $100 000 grant from the Andrews Labor government’s country football and netball program in partnership with Golden Plains Shire Council, which contributed $400 000.
The Bannockburn Football & Netball Club, the Tigers, is typical of the active sporting clubs that dot my electorate of Western Victoria Region, part of the fabric of each town and in many cases going from strength to strength. The Tigers have more than 500 members.
These clubs are focal points in regional communities, with long histories, and they play a key role in establishing community connectedness, apart from encouraging Victorians to get active.
Recently 17 other western Victorian sporting clubs across Warrnambool City, Glenelg, Moyne, Colac Otway and Corangamite shires have received grants under the sporting club grants program.
These grants are for uses ranging from training coaches, officials and volunteers to improving operational effectiveness for the football-netball clubs at Tyrendarra and Timboon as well as boosting Aboriginal participation in sport and purchasing new uniforms and equipment.
Bowls clubs at Macarthur, Allansford and Timboon have received grants, and there were grants to cricket, Little Athletics, basketball and equitation in the communities of Portland, Port Fairy, Warrnambool, Simpson, Camperdown, Colac and Apollo Bay.
Both programs are part of this government’s commitment to make sport more accessible and inclusive, to increase local participation, to stimulate local economies and to build sustainable sport and recreation and volunteer opportunities.