Tuesday, 4 February 2025

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (18:29): (1362) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Corrections, and the action that I seek is for the minister to meet with the Murchison–Toolamba Football Netball Club to explore opportunities for the transfer of sheds from the Dhurringile Prison, which has been decommissioned, to the club. Sporting clubs are the heart of many rural and regional towns. They are not just about playing sport and getting fit, they also connect people together and nurture relationships. Country sports clubs deserve support from the government because they play a vital role at a point of contact for organising the community and supporting each other when towns face natural disasters or hard times.

One club that has done incredible work for its community but has not received the government support it deserves is the Murchison–Toolamba Football Netball Club, known as the Hoppers. I have spoken in Parliament several times about the Hoppers and how the club deserves transformative funding. They have been planning a three-stage redevelopment of their facilities for many years but have been repeatedly let down by state Labor governments. The Hoppers find themselves in a particularly difficult situation, stuck in a funding no-man’s-land because they play on Crown land. Most state government grants to sporting clubs require the local council to apply or support the application, but council will not apply for funding for facilities that are on Crown land. That means that the Murchison–‍Toolamba Football Netball Club can only get funding directly from the state, but the state Labor government continues to ignore their request.

Now the Victorian government has an opportunity to finally do something for the Hoppers, and at very little cost to itself. The government is currently decommissioning Dhurringile, and the club is interested in acquiring sheds from the Dhurringile Prison site, especially the larger shed previously used as the wooden products factory. The club want to dismantle and reassemble the shed at the recreation reserve where they play and use it for their clubrooms. Ownership of the facilities would remain with the state. The current rooms were constructed in 1981, and they have not been renovated or upgraded since. Club officials have met with officers from the AFL, who after inspecting 3000 other football clubs deemed the condition of Murchison’s facilities to be in the bottom 5 per cent in the nation. I have visited the club myself and I can only agree.

The club desperately need investment to bring their facilities into the 21st century, which will encourage wider participation and secure a sporting future for local kids. The club is willing to cover the cost of relocating the shed and will seek to raise further funds to fit out the clubrooms. Repurposing the old shed instead of building new rooms from scratch would represent a significant financial saving to the club and community and leave a lasting legacy for future members.