Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier this year, I was very pleased to have the opportunity to officially launch construction of the new state-of-the-art multisports complex and netball stadium at HE Parker Reserve in Heathmont. This new complex is being built to cater for a large number of sports, including volleyball, badminton, table tennis and, importantly, netball, and will provide world-class facilities for some of the up-and-coming athletes in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. Importantly for our local netballers, it will include four new indoor and four new outdoor netball courts, with connectivity between the indoor and outdoor courts. Other new facilities will include a tournament office, a large multipurpose room, a meeting room, a gym, office space, a kiosk, storage, amenities, change facilities and a first-aid room.

Most significantly, the new indoor courts will mean an end to an unfair situation that has been in place for many years, where netballers, predominantly women, are forced to play their games outdoors, often in cold, wet and slippery conditions, while local basketballers, just a kilometre up the road, get to play indoors. Given the growing participation rate that all the above-mentioned sports, particularly netball, are currently experiencing, I'm so pleased to have been able to have helped make this project a reality, through a $10½ million funding contribution from the federal government.

In the eastern region of Melbourne alone, there are around 20,000 registered netballers, who will now have access to some of the best competition facilities not just in our state but in the entire country. We'll finally have a centre that is fit for purpose for all of our brilliant local clubs and their volunteers, who do an outstanding job. These clubs include Bayswater Uniting Netball Club, Blackburn Lake Netball Club, Heathmont United Netball Club, Holy Spirit Netball Club, Mullum Netball Club, Norwood Heights Netball Club, Nunawading Netball Club, Our Lady's Netball Club, Park Orchards Netball Club, Rangeview Rangers Netball Club, Ringwood North Netball Club, Southwood Netball Club, St James Netball Club and, finally, Trinity Netball Club. My hope is that this new state-of-the-art centre will allow each of these clubs to continue to grow and to go from strength to strength, attracting new players and launching, hopefully, the future careers of many Australian netball stars.

In the Maroondah City Council area there are two netball associations—Melbourne East Netball Association and Ariels Victorian Churches Netball Association. I'd like to thank them for their advocacy in making this project a reality. Finally, I'd like to acknowledge the work of Councillor Kylie Spears, from the Maroondah City Council, who is also the president of Melbourne East Netball Association, who has worked with me from day one to make this new netball stadium a reality for the people of Deakin.