WITH 100 days to the next ACT election, the ACT Labor Party today pledged $26 million for sports grounds and facilities.
Party leader Katy Gallagher (pictured), her deputy Andrew Barr and ACT Labor MLAs and candidates for the October 20 poll gathered to make the announcement.
“The ACT is one of the healthiest and most active communities in Australia, with nearly 90 per cent of Canberrans participating in some form of exercise, recreation or sport,” said Gallagher.
“It is clear that our local sports grounds and facilities are well utilised and valued by Canberrans.”
Barr said that ACT Labor has made record investments in sport and recreation, but there was still more to do.
“The ACT Labor Government over recent years has made significant improvements to local sports grounds and facilities to ensure Canberrans have access to the best sporting facilities. We will continue this work in the next term of Government,” Barr said.
Meanwile ACT Liberal leader Zed Seselja dismissed today’s announcement describing it as nothing but a reminder of how much has been promised by ACT Labor in the past, but how little has been delivered.
“We’re still waiting for the Gungahlin pool promised at the last election, and the election before that. There was great fanfare about how committed ACT Labor was to community sports, but work on that pool hasn’t even started, and now won’t be finished until at least 2015,” Seselja said.
“We’re still waiting for the Lyneham Sports precinct which was due to be finished last year and now won’t be finished until 2014.
“Every election, ACT Labor promises to focus on local sports facilities, and every year in between they simply fail to deliver.
The latest Labor sports policies include:
• Southside synthetic football fields at Melrose High School – $5.1 million
• Kambah District Playing Fields and Hawker District Playing Fields irrigation and surface improvements – $3.4 million
• Restoration of Spence and Torrens neighbourhood ovals – $2.6 million
• Greenway Enclosed Oval Infrastructure Improvement Fund – $500,000
• Southside synthetic athletics track – site selection and construction funding – $4.5 million
• New Northside indoor sports centre – site selection for a new centre – $50,000
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