A Shorten Labor Government will fully meet the petition of the Frankston basketball community for $7.5 million federal funding for the Frankston Basketball Stadium.
MARK DREYFUS QC
SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL
MEMBER FOR ISAACS
PETA MURPHY
LABOR CANDIDATE FOR DUNKLEY
LABOR FULLY MEETS COMMUNITYS FRANKSTON BASKETBALL CALL
A Shorten Labor Government will fully meet the petition of the Frankston basketball community for $7.5 million federal funding for the Frankston Basketball Stadium.
Former Liberal MP for Dunkley, Bruce Billson, announced $4.95 million for the project last year, but that fell well short of the $7.5 million that the community had petitioned for.
Labors additional $2.55 million investment means the $15 million Stage One project can be completed.
Labor Candidate for Dunkley, Peta Murphy, announced the additional funding with Shadow Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus QC, Frankston Basketball CEO, Nathan Jolly, the Mayor of the City of Frankston, James Dooley, and local State Members for Frankston and Carrum, Paul Edbrooke and Sonya Kilkenny.
On 2 October last year, 8,000 locals signed a petition calling on the Federal Government to match dollar-for-dollar the commitments of local stakeholders to deliver this $15 million project, Ms Murphy said.
The project will include:
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A new High Performance Centre, with a $1 million federal contribution to support our aspiring heroes, with the balance to be funded through Frankston Basketball and community fundraising.
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A new corporate, club and community function area, with a $700,000 commitment to support facilities that will also be made available for wider community purposes.
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Expanded Show Court capacity for major events, a $500,000 investment that enables Frankston to host major events and establish itself as a major regional hub for the big competitions.
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A new $350,000 Schools Partnerships, to expand access to high performance support and coaching for local schools, and to spread a high performance culture.
The local Liberals have already publicly acknowledged that their funding gap means that a high performance centre and a dedicated function area for the club and community has been compromised. Only Labors commitment satisfies the request of the 8,000-strong basketball community.
This is an investment in our young people and a vote of confidence in our community. Without it, the project is under-funded, as the Liberals have failed to meet the communitys needs and expectations. Perhaps this explains why the Liberals refused to table the petition, Ms Murphy said.
Many of us would remember the home crowd buzz when local Maddie Garrick stepped on court for the Opals against Japan last July. It was electric!
In the months ahead, local boys David Andersen and Ryan Broekhoff will be taking on the world at the Rio Olympics.
These are our local heroes who inspire young boys and girls to take on the world.
Labors investment will build skills at all levels, improve opportunity for hundreds of kids and adults, and support teams from entry to professional level.
High performance facilities and programs can underpin a new high performance culture.
Frankston Basketball has a number of school partnerships in place, but this will be taken to another level. Local principals and parents are very keen to see this happen.
Frankston is an iconic Victorian basketball club that has produced Boomers and Opals stars, but with Victorias fifth largest basketball association, we need the facilities to keep growing.
Only Labor sees the potential in Frankston as one of Victorias major basketball hubs.
TUESDAY, 17 MAY 2016
