Tuesday, 20 May 2025

Prahran electorate

Rachel WESTAWAY (Prahran) (19:25): (1159) My adjournment this evening is for the Treasurer in the other place. The action I am seeking is for the Treasurer to provide an explanation as to why my seat of Prahran has been totally dismissed and ignored in the budget delivered today. There has been no funding for upgrades to vital community facilities such as sporting clubs and schools and a total disregard for the crime issues plaguing my seat.

The seat of Prahran is the home to the Toorak Prahran Cricket Club and the Melbourne Rugby Union Club. They play on the grounds at Orrong Park. The Toorak Prahran Cricket Club is the largest cricket club in Victoria and the second largest in Australia, with 650 members. It has got a growing membership of females, and the club has a long history of women’s cricket, with 96 players who have represented Prahran in first grade women’s cricket. They boast exceptional alumni like Sam Loxton, Chris Rogers, David Hussey and Bryce McGain. The rugby union club has over 400 members, with alumni such as Sir Edward Weary Dunlop, Matt Cockbain, Geoff Vaughan and Rob Leota. They have the Melbourne RFC ladies team, which launched this year. The clubs utilise the grounds at Orrong Park. The clubrooms are in total disrepair. They have a sink but no kitchenette to use for functions to raise vital funds for the club and no girls change rooms.

In another part of my electorate I have St Kilda Primary School, with over 500 students. It had a school hall demolished in 2020 to make way for a new building. The initial plans provided a new school hall as part of the new building project. However, at the very last moment the hall was removed from the final plans without any consultation with the local community. Since that time the school has been forced to hold their assemblies outdoors, which of course means that they have to be cancelled if the weather is too hot or too cold. The students have nowhere to go at lunchtime. On wet days there is no gym space and there are no PE lessons, drama classes or other school activities that require a large indoor area. Over 50 per cent of the over 500 students live in apartments, and they need space – space to learn and play. A new school hall would have allowed them to hold the assemblies and gym classes without having to worry about the weather. Importantly, after school hours the hall would be a valuable community resource to be used for sporting and recreational facilities. The seat of Prahran is a diverse seat, with constituents using these facilities who are from some of the lower socio-economic groups, and they are doing it tough.

Since my election I have spoken endlessly about the lack of police resources and funding for Prahran police station and more CCTV units, and we have seen nothing, only a 20 per cent increase in crime in the last 12 months. It is disgraceful.

My voice has been heard across mainstream media. Chapel Street runs through the electorate – once a major tourism destination, it has been ignored, and my constituents deserve an explanation. I urge the Labor government not to ignore the people of Prahran. I call on the Treasurer to commit the funds needed to upgrade my local sporting facilities, invest in the education facilities at St Kilda Primary School and support me in my endeavours to support Prahran.