LABOR CANDIDATE Naomi Oakley made an election commitment before the 2022 State Election to provide $300,000 for new cricket nets for Warrandyte Cricket Club, which has been honoured in the State Budget 2022/23.
Despite Ms Oakley not being successful in her bid for the seat of Warrandyte, and even before the spectre of the Warrandyte byelection was on the cards, MPs for North East Metropolitan Region, Sonja Terpstra and Sean Leane attended the Warrandyte Cricket Club on Budget Day to deliver on that commitment.
She said this will mean that the club can continue to be a place that members and the broader community can stay active and engaged.
“The Andrews Government recognises the importance of community sport,” she told the club executive at the announcement.
“I know you guys do a great job here, you play such an important role and I know this club is an amazing club, how you engage with everyone.
“The sense of community and pride is amazing, so we couldn’t be happier to be delivering that promise,” she said.
Club President Royce Jaksic said last season the club fielded nine Senior sides, 16 Juniors, Over 40s, Over 50s, Over 60s and Over 70s, as well as Women’s and Girls’ teams.
“We’re the largest club in the RDCA, which is amazing because we’re a pretty small community when you think about it,” Mr Jaksic said.
He said next season there were plans for an all-abilities side.
He said the current nets are a health and safety issue as they intrude into the playing field.
“If there’s a game going on out in the centre, particularly cricket, and we’ve got people training, if a six gets hit, someone’s going to get killed,” he said.
He said it is also an issue during the cross over between cricket and football seasons.
A major concern is children can climb on top of the existing cages.
Mr Jasic said the new nets would be designed to make that “impossible”.
Mr Leane said: “The Labor Andrews Government understands that local sporting clubs are at the heart of so many communities.
“It’s why we’re funding upgrades to the Warrandyte Cricket Club.”
Upgrade for dog parks
Ms Terpstra and Mr Leane also announced the Budget was providing funding for upgrading the dog parks at Stiggants Reserve, Warrandyte.
A spokesperson from Ms Terpstra’s office said the announcement was about providing funding, the details of the park “still to be hashed out”.
“They’ll likely be run and maintained by council, with details of the build and requirements to be negotiated, including individual funding amounts”.
He said Stiggants was marked for funding as it is known to be popular with local dog owners.
Exactly what that will look like is still up for speculation, as Manningham Council currently has no plans to make changes to Stiggants Reserve.
Manningham’s Director City Planning, Duncan Turner told the Diary, Council was pleased to see the recent State Budget allocation to upgrade up to 22 dog parks.
“We understand Lawford Reserve Doncaster and Stiggants Reserve Warrandyte are on the list, but we have no further details about the funding,” he said.
Park Orchards Community House
Ms Terpstra and Mr Leane also announced a funding for Park Orchards Community House & Learning Centre a budget allocation of $60,000 to go towards important upgrades to their learning centre.
Ms Terpstra said: “Everyone in Park Orchards knows the community house and learning centre and how they have been serving our community for years.
“I’m proud to give back to those who have given so much to us.”
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