Page 4904 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
grounds. For example, Calwell ovals have nearly 5,000 hours of usage per year. So we have many sporting groups that are struggling to grow their membership base and many are playing at fields that have poor facilities and little chance for improvement in the short term.
We know that community sports facilities in the ACT require significant upkeep. But just as ACTSport outlined in its last budget submission, there is concern in the community that there is no government action plan for new sporting facilities or policies for their ongoing management and maintenance.
But how do you plan for ongoing maintenance when you do not keep records for individual grounds? In answers to questions earlier this year we were advised that “ground by ground records of quarterly billing for electricity and water are not retained”. It is the same for vandalism and labour costs. So we have hundreds of hectares of land, dozens of fields with a variety of infrastructures and there is no recording of what it costs to maintain these assets on a field by field basis.
So how do we plan future development and how does the government determine ground hire fees? During estimates we were told that hire charges make up only a small part of the actual maintenance schedule. But how are they determined? We have been told that hiring charges in the last decade have only increased in line with the wages-price index and/or the consumer price index.
But our own reckoning has shown that ground hire fees have increased for some junior sports by as much as 135 per cent. So on what basis then does the department determine the variation? Why is it that baseball and softball matches played on an unenclosed oval are charged at $9.25 an hour, while Rugby League matches on the same type of oval are charged at $33.65? Why is it that training for both softball and baseball is charged at $4.65 for senior and $1.70 per hour, while training for senior Rugby League is billed at $16.65 per hour? But that does not justify or excuse putting up ground fees for junior sports by as much as 135 per cent.
Discussions with various codes and clubs in recent months have had a recurring theme: the cost of player registrations is driven in large part by the cost of ground hire fees. Interestingly, junior Rugby League clubs in the ACT have fees around $80 to $90 at the lower end and at $120 to $130 at the top end. By comparison, the same regional clubs that are based in Queanbeyan pay, on average, $60 a player, with lower ground hire fees being the reason for the difference.
The Canberra Liberals understand the issues and understand the pressure on the local groups of volunteers to meet the needs of their players and their clubs. That is why last week we announced that, in order to ensure all amateur junior sports can have confidence in developing their sport and their membership base, a future Liberal government will provide in our first year of government a grants program of $3.5 million to provide local clubs with an opportunity to invest in their clubs, their facilities and their junior members. It will consist of 10 grants of $350,000 to be directed towards appropriate infrastructure for local grounds, be it new goal posts, better or new lighting, or even upgraded toilets, changing rooms or canteens. We know it will make a difference.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video