Thursday, 24 September 2026

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (18:03): (2849) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Community Sport, and the action that I seek is for the minister to commit $12 million to fund a new indoor sports and events centre in Shepparton. Shepparton stadium has served the community well for more than 50 years, but it no longer has the capacity to meet demand as participation in basketball and other indoor sports has exploded, while the ageing facility fails to meet safety and accessibility standards. A new stadium has been one of the council’s top priorities for years, and Basketball Victoria has identified this project as their number one infrastructure project in regional Victoria. After Labor’s persistent refusal to invest in this vital community asset, Greater Shepparton City Council has done a lot of work to rescope the project and create a plan that will still achieve their vision for a sports and events centre that the city can be proud of and that will attract national and international sporting events.

The new stadium will have four multi-use courts that meet national standards and a show court with seating for up to 3000 spectators, allowing more fans to get a ticket to watch the Gators. There will also be function and event spaces, a reception, a cafe, new changing rooms, accessible amenities and more car parking. Council has committed $10 million towards the project and is seeking an investment of $12 million from the Victorian state government to realise its vision. My advocacy for this project has been unrelenting. At the start of the 59th Parliament, in 2018, the stadium was my first constituency question, and again in 2022, at the start of the 60th Parliament, it was my first constituency question. Now in the final week and the final adjournment of my parliamentary career, it will be the last thing that I raise, asking once more for the state government to invest in a new sports and events centre that Shepparton needs and truly deserves.

At every step of this project the city’s vision for a new stadium has been blocked by one thing: the Labor government’s refusal to invest in regional Victoria. For Labor politicians and bureaucrats in Melbourne, rural and regional Victoria is often an afterthought, meaning places like Shepparton have missed out on vital sports infrastructure funding. Twenty-five per cent of Victoria’s population lives in the regions, but under Labor only 12 per cent of the infrastructure spending has gone to regional Victoria. The Liberals have pledged to end this neglect and guarantee that 25 per cent of infrastructure investment goes to regional Victoria. Shepparton cannot wait any longer. We need a new stadium that will serve our children now and long into the future and allow them to keep participating in sports as the city grows. We also need a sports and events centre that reflects the city’s growing role as a regional centre for major events, and attracts national and international tournaments – (Time expired)