Tuesday, 5 March 2024

Bendigo East Swimming Pool

Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (02:03): (745) I attended a community meeting on Sunday at the Bendigo East pool about the City of Greater Bendigo’s decision to close the pool for winter on 12 April. This is just weeks away and it has come as a shock to many locals and those who travel to use the pool, as it is the only outdoor winter pool in the Bendigo region. With increased running costs and gas heating for the pool, they need over $100,000 to keep it open during winter. The action I seek is for the attention of the Premier and local member for Bendigo East Jacinta Allan to listen to the local community and take action to keep the pool open.

This decision to close the pool over winter does not make any sense. Over $120 million has been spent by council and the state government to build the GovHub in the centre of Bendigo, but now there are not enough funds to keep the pool open, a community facility that helps build social connections and keeps people healthy and out of hospital. Last year the community was told that the Brennan Park pool would be upgraded and made into a heated, all-year-round pool, but that project is subject to funding and work is expected in 2028. According to the council’s pool usage data, there were 73,000 visits a year to the Bendigo East pool and only to 5000 to Brennan Park. I have spoken with lots of different groups that use the Bendigo East pool – people like Joan and Mary, and Jim, who is in his late 80s. I met a lady who has been going to the pool for over 30 years and now takes her young daughter. I spoke with Caroline, a professional that rises early to meet friends and uses the pool throughout winter. It is also a training facility for the triathlon group. I met parents there: Hayley and Clint – their kids are part of the Bendigo East swim club. The club coach John Jordan is keen to see it stay open. The team trains at the pool three mornings a week and every night, and swimmers like Cam Jordan and Henry Allan represent Australia at the highest level. Yet these clubs have been told to relocate for winter training to Gurri Wanyarra in Kangaroo Flat – on the other side of Bendigo – another venue that is already busy.

Bendigo has a rapidly growing population. We should be expanding facilities not closing them down. We need to keep the Bendigo East pool open this winter, at the very minimum until the Brennan Park pool is upgraded. For locals the decision to cancel the Commonwealth Games was disappointing enough; this is just another kick in the guts. Given $2 billion was promised to regional communities after the games were cancelled, I ask the Premier to work with the local council and the committee of management to find sustainable solutions to keep the Bendigo East pool open.