Wednesday, 26 August 2026

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (19:21): (2736) My question is for the Minister for Community Sport. The action that I seek is for the minister to support female and junior participation in soccer and other sports by funding an upgrade of the change rooms and the construction of a dedicated soccer pitch at the Woodend Racecourse Reserve. Woodend Racecourse Reserve is a local sports precinct that includes an oval, outdoor netball courts, equestrian fields and a sports stadium with an indoor basketball court. Woodend Eagles Soccer Club is a popular and growing club that shares the use of the oval and is bursting with new players, including many young girls. I recently joined the excellent Liberal candidate for Macedon Kate Kendall and Liberal leader Jess Wilson to visit the club and see how popular soccer is becoming. Young girls are also turned off from joining in because there are no female-friendly rooms at the racecourse reserve. There is no privacy, as the shower block has no doors or curtains, so no-one uses it. There are also no locks on toilet doors and no dedicated female change rooms or bathrooms. The club told us that one young girl wet herself because she was afraid to use the facilities. Young girls do not want to get undressed in gross change rooms that offer no privacy. Women and girls deserve clean and safe facilities that will encourage wider participation in sport, which we know has so many benefits. This is about more than just playing games. It is about healthier children, better mental health and lifelong friendship as players and communities stay connected. However, the soccer club also struggles to compete with footy teams in Woodend to get training time on the oval, and the Eagles have been allocated just 1 hour a week at the reserve for their six teams to train all at once. That is clearly not sustainable long term.

While participation rises infrastructure lags behind, and that is hampering the growth of soccer in the town, which is very popular with both boys and girls. Macedon Ranges Shire Council this year completed a master plan for the future development of Woodend Racecourse Reserve, which anticipates that soccer could eventually have higher participation among under-15s than Australian Rules Football. Providing facilities that cater to the projected demand is essential, and accordingly the master plan includes a rectangular soccer pitch for training and games as well as a pavilion for parents and spectators. There is ample space for a soccer pitch at Woodend Racecourse Reserve, where one of the equestrian fields lies unused. But it is Crown land, so the Victorian government’s involvement is crucial in moving development forward. Regional clubs are not asking for luxury, they just want modern change rooms and sports fields where everyone can get a chance to train and play. I ask the minister to support female participation in soccer and other sports at Woodend Racecourse Reserve by funding an upgrade to the changing rooms and expanding the playing fields – (Time expired)