Geoff Lyons (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week I attended the opening of the Launceston Regional Tennis Centre, in my electorate of Bass, which is a fantastic redevelopment for the people of Northern Tasmania. The redevelopment features 11 new courts, nine of which have the Australian Open plexicushion surface, in addition to new fencing, lighting, pathways and car parks. It is a project that has been sought by the Northern Tasmanian tennis community for more than 20 years. The redevelopment will provide Northern Tasmanians with a sports facility of professional standard and will encourage tennis development within the Launceston region. An estimated 18,000 to 20,000 tennis players are expected to use the facility each year. Melbourne Park is used 64 per cent of the time, and it is hoped this can be achieved in the Launceston. It is sure to improve the profile of tennis within the community.

World No. 5 ranked player Sam Stosur also attended the opening and was full of praise for the new facility. She said:

I think this is a great initiative and to have a tennis centre like this in a regional town will encourage a lot more people to play … Make the most of it. It looks pretty good. With facilities like this you can’t go wrong and hopefully you will start to see huge benefits.

LLeyton Hewitt’s manager, David Drysdale, like Sam, spoke highly of the facility:

What we’ve got here, with the whole complex—

there are indoor courts as well—

is not just another tennis centre, it’s something very special and better than so many others like it around Australia.

It is a fantastic facility for Northern Tasmanians, not just those passionate about tennis.

The Tasmanian Labor government and the Launceston City Council contributed $1.4 million and $466,000 respectively to this project. Tennis Australia contributed $110,000. The Australian Labor government provided $500,000 under the Better Regions Program, delivering on a commitment we made in 2007 to fund policies that have been identified by local communities as priority investments for their regions across Australia. I would like to congratulate all those who took part in making this vision become a reality. This project is yet another example of how the Australian Labor government has worked with the Tasmanian Labor government in building infrastructure that the community wants and, more importantly, that it needs.