Tuesday, 9 December 2025

 Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (22:32): (2239) My adjournment matter for this evening is for the Minister for Community Sport. We all know that Australians are cricket lovers, from the Boxing Day test to the Big Bash to one-day internationals – I could go on. But tonight my focus is around sustaining participation in regional Victoria, and I highlight the need for strategic planning in that space.

Cricket Victoria itself reports a strong growth in our juniors, in our women’s and girls, and in programs such as Woolworths Cricket Blast – all very good. These figures demonstrate there has been success in the game, but they reveal some underlying challenges, and these are youth retention, volunteer shortages and regional disparities that threaten the long-term viability of grassroots cricket in our regions. Speaking with a number of my cricket associations and cricket participants and volunteers, they will often tell you that from the ages of under 11s to under 15s clubs see good participation, but the senior grades often require even international recruit recruitment to keep sides playing. Currently, the government offers programs like the Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund and the Local Sports Infrastructure Fund. These initiatives are primarily focused on bricks-and-mortar projects, and this is fine and good. What is missing is targeted support for strategic planning, the kind of forward-looking work that ensures clubs and associations can remain sustainable and resilient. Many clubs in my electorate are struggling to manage compliance, governance and volunteer workloads. Volunteers are under immense pressure, juggling administration and fundraising as well as asset management, and indeed the fact that they often keep public assets in good order through volunteerism is something that the government and all Victorians should be quite proud of.

Without structured planning and resourcing these pressures will continue to erode participation and burn out the very people who keep grassroots cricket alive. The action I seek is for the minister to commit first of all to opening a new round of the local grants that I have just mentioned but also to consider expanding the program to include a dedicated stream for strategic planning grants for cricket associations that work in partnership with local government areas. These grants could support long-term sustainability and provide that this great institution of sport, this great activity, this great family fun and all-inclusive grassroots sporting movement can continue on long into the future in our rural communities.