By Luke Voogt
Geelong council voted to assign an $8.3 million Commonwealth grant to its planned Northern Aquatic and Community Hub as debate over the project reached federal Parliament this week.
Council received the grant under a federal roads and infrastructure fund, and on Tuesday night voted to assign the amount to the Norlane project.
Council will request an extension to the June 2022 completion date for projects required under the fund’s rules, an option available in the program’s guidelines.
Councillors also voted to apply for $10 million for the project in round five of the Commonwealth’s Building Better Regions Fund.
Combined, the funds could provide $18.3 million of the $41 million council is seeking from state and federal governments for the $61.6 million project.
Council has already allocated the other $20.6 million.
“We are seizing the opportunity to seek financial support for the Northern Aquatic and Community Hub through current federal funding schemes,” Geelong mayor Stephanie Asher said.
“Construction of the hub will be transformative for greater Geelong.
“This is critical infrastructure that will provide life-changing preventative health support for communities in the north.”
According to council studies, rates of “sedentary lifestyles” and poor health in the northern suburbs are double the greater Geelong average.
Corio and Norlane had a total of 2744 JobSeeker recipients as of January 29.
Council estimates the hub will inject $67 million into the local economy and support 111 local jobs.
Corio MP and deputy opposition leader Richard Marles told federal Parliament the hub would create $111 million in preventative health savings in its first decade.
Mr Marles said project “enjoys my support” and that of Lara state MP John Eren.
“It is now time for the federal government to commit to it,” he said.
But federal Victorian senator Sarah Henderson accused Mr Marles of “hypocrisy”, stating that his state Labor colleagues had yet to fund the proposal.
The Geelong-based senator welcomed council’s decision and said she would support its application for a further $10 million.
“This is in stark contrast to Victorian Labor which has not delivered one dollar for this project.”
