Mary Doyle (Aston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on a very special anniversary for one of the local sporting clubs in my electorate of Aston. One hundred years is a long time in anyone's life, but it is an especially long time in the life of a sporting organisation, and this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Boronia Cricket Club. I was lucky enough to be invited along to the club's night of nights celebratory dinner last Monday night—cup eve, actually.

Let us ask first, what is a cricket club? Well, as Boronia Cricket Club President Paul Noone attests, the Boronia Cricket Club is not just the change rooms, it's not just the social rooms and it certainly isn't the reserve on which the club plays—as great as it is, and as great as it will become in the future. The Boronia Cricket Club is about community. It's about the people, the connections, the teammates and the friendships that are made along the way. The great game of cricket brings people together. It fosters lifelong relationships. It keeps the local community active. And it's just so much fun. The Boronia Cricket Club has been providing this vital community activity for over a hundred years. My hearty congratulations go to the club for such a terrific history.

The club has been a cornerstone of the community since 1923. Boronia Cricket Club first found its home at Park Crescent in Boronia, before moving to Tormore Reserve, where they are located today. It's high time that the clubrooms at the reserve where the Boronia Cricket Club plays receive an upgrade. I'm so pleased that the Albanese Labor government will be delivering a $5 million boost to the over-46-year-old clubrooms at Tormore Reserve. Tormore Reserve pavilion is set to undergo a huge transformation that will breathe new life into the beloved sporting facility. The existing master plan will see a significant revamp of the pavilion, making it a modern and accessible hub for sports and community activities. The current pavilion, first constructed in 1976, is now deemed inadequate to meet the needs of the growing community, and, with limited facilities, a long overdue major overhaul is in order.

Following advocacy from Boronia Hawks Football Netball Club and Boronia Cricket Club, this project has received $1.2 million from a Victorian state government funding grant, and federal government funding of $5 million is currently in the application process. A total budget of $6.2 million will be received over a three-year period for the delivery of this project. The proposed redevelopment will provide improved amenities for the existing clubs, and it includes a refurbishment of the existing pavilion, with the addition of a second storey. For the great local clubs that play there, like the Boronia Cricket Club, new purpose-built clubrooms will establish Tormore Reserve as the centre of the Boronia community, creating a greater social space for members of the community to come together, and making local sport more accessible for more people.

Women in sport are important to the Albanese Labor government and to me as the local member. This investment in local sport will ensure that all members of the community can access great community sporting clubs, just like the hundred-year-old Boronia Cricket Club. The Boronia Cricket Club was also successful recently—and I say recently, because Aston was a special exception—in round 8 of the federal government's Stronger Communities Program grants, receiving $18,000 to upgrade the Chandler Park cricket pitch and surrounds. Alongside the Knox City Council, the players will benefit from a more improved playing surface for the cricket pitch.

I would like to say a huge thankyou to all the players, parents, coaching staff, managers, umpires, scorers and supporters for their advocacy and hard work towards this amazing outcome. Well done to all of you and congratulations once again.