My adjournment matter this evening is for the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, and it is in relation to the Winchelsea Gun Club. The minister may be aware that the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) has ordered the club to vacate its current premises at the Winchelsea Common by 31 December this year. The club has a membership base of over 200 people and has been in existence for more than 30 years. Currently the club meets and shoots on two Saturdays per month, with around 100 participants, and it is well supported by the local community. The Lions Club caters at the meetings, and its profits flow back into the township of Winchelsea.
Over the past several years senior club members have been investigating possible locations for the club’s new home; however, none of them has so far come to fruition. These investigations have included the preparation of submissions and the engagement of consultants and legal advisors, and the costs have been borne by the gun club itself. Eight different sites have been investigated at the club’s expense.
Members of the Winchelsea Gun Club are requesting that DSE extend the notice period for the vacation of the current site to allow them more time to find a suitable new home. I ask the minister to look favourably upon the request from the gun club to allow it to continue to meet as a club while it finds a suitable location. I ask the Department of Sustainability and Environment to increase its efforts to provide assistance, working with the club, to find a suitable location for the club and for the relocation to proceed as soon as possible.