Nillumbik Shire Council calls on Federal Government to honour grant process for hockey club funding

Nillumbik Shire Council has called on the Federal Government to honour the grants process for the $500,000 Council missed out on for the new Greensborough Hockey Club Pavilion.

At this week’s Ordinary Meeting of Council, Councillors unanimously supported a motion to write to the Prime Minister and Federal Treasurer urging the Federal Government to contribute funding for the project as part of the upcoming May Budget.

They also requested Chief Executive Carl Cowie send a submission to the Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Administration of Sports Grants outlining Council’s concerns.

Deputy Mayor Peter Clarke told last week’s Council meeting that Council’s application for the hockey club pavilion funding from the Community Sport Infrastructure Grant Program was rejected despite a high assessment score, receiving an 89 out of a possible 100.

Deputy Mayor Clarke said he was moving the motion because it was in the best interests of Nillumbik’s ratepayers adding “we scored 89 out of 100, this should have sailed through the process and we would be able to achieve the additional half a million dollars.

“The only other way to fund it will be out of our rate revenue, which is currently what we are looking to budget for going forward because it is an important project.

“We are simply asking for what, under the rules of the Community Sport Infrastructure Grant Program should have been rightly granted.

“That would enable us and our budget in June to be able to reallocate that other $500,000 to other local projects or to make our rates a little less for the community if we so chose.”

Councillor Grant Brooker advised that the facility would benefit a wide range of community groups and deserved to be funded noting “The Greensborough Hockey Club has scored 89 on the criteria that was established by the Australian Sports Commission. The cut-off was 73 supposedly for this and there are a lot of projects as we know that scored less than that.

“We are really wanting the government to look at this project and we are making a direct application for them to do so and also forwarding it to the Senate Committee that is investigating this whole process.”

Work on $2.7 million redevelopment of the Greensborough Hockey Pavilion is scheduled to start next month and will include change facilities for male and female players and umpires, unisex toilets, a second-level social room, first aid room, a kitchen and canteen, as well as improvements to accessibility including an accessible change room.

Works are programmed to be completed in 2021. The pavilion is funded through $2 million from the Victorian Government’s Department of Environment Land Water and Planning Growing Suburbs Fund, $90,000 from the Greensborough Hockey Club with the balance of more than $500,000 from the Nillumbik Shire Council.

Nillumbik Shire is located 25 kilometre north-east of Melbourne,

Image courtesy of Nillumbik Shire Council