Julie Bishop promised funds for St George’s first synthetic football field during an election pitch to the district’s vast sporting community.
The deputy Liberal Party leader and Minister for Foreign Affairs pledged a total of $1.75 million for sports facility improvements at a news conference with Banks MP David Coleman at Penshurst Park.
Officials from St George football, basketball and AFL associations broke into spontaneous applause at the end of the announcement.
Ms Bishop said a re-elected Coalition government would provide:
- $1 million towards the proposed $10 million upgrade of adjoining Penshurst Park and Hurstville Aquatic Leisure Centre, including a synthetic football field, additional court space for basketball, netball, badminton and table tennis, and an indoor cricket centre.
· $500,000 towards the proposed $5 million regional athletics centre in Riverwood Park, including a synthetic athletics track.
- $150,000 towards an upgrade of AFL facilities at Olds Park, including improved irrigation and a new electronic scoreboard.
- $100,000 towards improvements at Peakhurst Park, including upgrading the amenities block, new seating and better fencing.
Hurstville Council announced in May this year, before the merger, work would start in 2016-17 on the new facilities at Penshurst Park and the aquatic leisure centre.
The council also began community consultation on the proposed regional athletics centre by releasing a draft feasibility study.
Executive director and chairman of St George Football Association Sok Mallios said, “We have been crying out for a synthetic field in our area”.
“We feel like the poor cousin to other regions – some have five or six,” he said.
“This will be the first in St George, and there will be a few others in the Rockdale area, which have been announced but they will be a few years away.”
Mr Mallios said the council had estimated the Penshurst Park and aquatic leisure centre project would cost about $10 million.
”The synthetic field will be about $2 million of that,” he said.
”From the discussions we have had with the council, stage one, the cricket area, should be up and running for 2017 and the synthetic field should be in 2018.
“Our association has 10,000 players, and wet weather can cause games to be cancelled for anywhere between two and six rounds out of 18 a year.
”We called off last weekend and we haven’t been able to train this week.
”The thing about a synthetic field is you can use it all day in all weather.”
Ms Bishop denied the promise was “pork barrelling”.
“Absolutely not – these are the kind of funding announcements that a government t concerned about local communities should make,” she said.
”Investing in community infrastructure is investing in communities.”
Mr Coleman said the sporting improvements were badly needed
”Athletics is similar to football with no synthetic track,” he said.
“You still have a situation at Olds Park, where parents on Friday night are marking out the chalk lines.
“If you look at Sutherland, Bankstown or pretty much any other part of Sydney, they have synthetic football fields and athletics tracks.”
