State ‘ignores sport demand’

KIM WATERS
STATE Government is ignoring the seat of Bellarine in favour of splashing cash on neighbouring South Barwon, according to MP Lisa Neville.
The Member for Bellarine said her request for state funding toward a proposed Drysdale and Clifton Springs sport precinct revealed the Government thought “Geelong only means South Barwon”.
She sought a funding commitment or for Sports Minister Hugh Delahunty to visit the proposed site but instead heard “this list of South Barwon sporting clubs and infrastructure that were committed to in the budget”.
She also raised a lack of state funding for Ocean Grove’s proposed Shell Road sports reserve upgrade, saying the Bellarine Peninsula’s existing facilities were not keeping pace with population growth.
“These are areas that have been clearly identified for many decades by the greater Geelong city council as the growth areas of the Bellarine Peninsula.”
Geelong councillors last week endorsed a master plan for the Drysdale and Clifton Springs sports precinct, estimated to cost $14.7 million.
A spokesperson for Mr Delahunty said the minister had “not been approached” to fund the Drysdale and Clifton Springs sports precinct.
Funding was available though existing programs “subject to the usual approval processes and capacity”, the spokesperson said.