Wednesday, 13 May 2026

 Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Minister for Public and Active Transport, Minister for Women and Girls) (09:49): I rise today to welcome a budget win for locals in Doveton, with this year’s state budget committing half a million dollars towards upgrades at the Doveton Pool in the Park. The Doveton pool has a very special place in the heart of the local Doveton community. It was a pool that was born out of advocacy of that local community many decades ago following the tragic drownings of local young children in the Eumemmerring Creek. This led to the community advocating for somewhere safe for local children to swim, and so the Doveton pool was born.

Recently the pool was under threat after Casey council made some decisions to effectively remove it. This gave rise to a huge community campaign to save the Doveton pool, which saw a change of heart by council, and there is now a joint effort by Casey council, the federal government and the state government to invest in the redevelopment of the pool to modernise an important piece of community infrastructure so that it can serve local children for generations to come and continue to be that safe place for kids to swim, which was at the heart of the story of Doveton pool to begin with. It is a great win not only for me as a representative in this place but, more importantly, for the local community, who have fought so hard to see this local community asset preserved and enriched.