By Chelsea Szabo
For the second time, the Liberals have promised to fund a much-needed upgrade to Lilydale Recreation Reserve’s sporting facilities and build a community space, if elected.
On 31 March, federal member for Casey Aaron Violi said if he and his party gets a majority in the upcoming election, they will invest $5 million into upgrading the reserve.
As there are currently no change rooms for women, no air conditioning and structural issues with the pavilion, Lilydale Cricket Club president Steve Oxley said this is welcome news.
“We’re pretty excited as a cricket club. Since the 1850s this club has been going and I think our rooms may look like they were built in the 1850s really,” he said with a chuckle.
He said it inevitably hurts the growth of the cricket club when they are faced with “all our local competitors getting new club rooms”.
Though he said the club has been communicating with Yarra Ranges Council for 10 years about the issue and getting updates, funding has not come through.
“We’re seeing club rooms be built around us, which is so frustrating,” he said.
“I’m sick of the empty promises and the broken promises.”
The Liberal Party pledged $1 million to the reserve in the lead up to the 2022 federal election and though Mr Violi was elected for Casey, the Liberals did not form a majority, a condition of the funding.
Mr Violi said improving these facilities will help create a “community hub” and encourage more people to participate in local sports.
“I’ve heard from locals, community groups and Lilydale sporting clubs that we need a place for community to come together. Lilydale clubs have seen exciting growth in women’s sport, but their facilities are holding them back,” he said.
As well as upgraded sporting facilities, Lilydale Football Netball Club president Anthony Simmons is particularly keen to see Lilydale have this community hub.
Part of the Lilydale Township Action Group, he said the consensus is “there’s no community building in Lilydale that’s there as a centre.”
“There is no community heart in Lilydale”, he said.
“We’re the centre, allegedly, of the Shire of Yarra Ranges. We’ve got council offices, but we have no community hub.
“This is not just about new rooms. This is about actually utilising that precinct to its maximum and putting a community centre there, not just for community sport, but for other community volunteer organisations to utilise as well.”
If the funding does not eventuate, Mr Simmons said the council will not be able to fund a project of this magnitude on their own.
Yarra Ranges Council’s planning and sustainable futures director Kath McClusky told Star Mail since funding has been delivered to other higher priority projects such as the Don Road Recreation Pavilion, the Lilydale Recreation Reserve is now their “top priority” and they will seek Federal support for the upgrades.
“We will advocate to all candidates and MPs, develop concepts and costings, and engage with clubs and the community to strengthen funding requests. We seek bipartisan support and matched funding commitments,” she said.
The council said its Community Heart in Lilydale (CHIL) project highlighted a “strong need” for a community space.
“We are working on early site plans and will engage the community in further discussions. This need is recognised at a Federal level.”
Labor candidate for Casey Naomi Oakley told Star Mail the $5 million promised by Aaron Violi and similar pledges, do not cover the cost of upgrades.
“The grants he has promised are usually around 50 per cent of the capital required and the additional 50 per cent has to be stumped up by the council. This puts financial pressure on the council resources and the services and programs they have prioritised,” she said.
“Lilydale may well need this significant grant, and, they might be a priority, but there are many significant sporting clubs in the Yarra Valley that are desperate for capital funding.
“My approach is to advocate to Government at all levels for significantly increase [sic] funding for Yarra ranges infrastructure projects. I would work with Yarra Ranges Council and community groups to identify the electorates priority needs.”
Other candidates vying for the Casey seat have also weighed in on the recreation reserve and Aaron Violi’s pledge.
Independent candidate Claire Ferres Miles told Star Mail the pledge is “nothing short of pork barrelling [sic]”, a term used to describe parties allocating public money to projects for their own electoral interests.
“Pork barrelling of marginal seats is not about investing in strategic priorities for the Casey community. These one-off election announcements are pet projects chosen by political parties, announced to photograph the cutting of ribbons.
“They bypass the council’s long-term infrastructure priorities which are based on a robust assessment of community needs,” she said.
“A better solution is to increase federal funding for local councils, with an increase in Federal Assistance Grants (FAG) from 0.5 per cent to one per cent of Commonwealth taxation revenue.”
She said this would ensure funding is “strategic” and “responds directly to priority community needs”.
Greens candidate Dr Merran Blair said her party would support upgrades to the reserve.
“I am firmly committed to investing in our community and want local governments to have the resources they need to provide and maintain safe and inclusive community infrastructure. If elected, I will consider the proposal closely, and fight to make sure that our community is heard in Canberra.”
“I’m especially keen to ensure the sporting facilities across Casey encourage women, First Nations people and disabled people to participate in sport. Lilydale Recreation Reserve is a fantastic facility that we should support,” she said.
Lilydale Cricket Club president Steve Oxley said the lack of female change rooms is the primary reason why the club has no women’s team.
“I think without female change rooms, without female facilities, it’s very hard to attract a ladies cricket club,” he said.
“We’ve had a lot of interest. We’ve got ladies that would like to coach, but when they see the facilities, they walk away because there are better opportunities for ladies locally.”
“Every one of our competitors locally has a ladies cricket side, and that is frustrating.”
