Do you think we have enough sporting facilities in Goldstein?  If not, how will you get more?

All of the sporting facilities in our area are on Council owned land and finding new sites has its own challenges. We are looking to provide funding to upgrade facilities in our area - whether it be new and improved club rooms or better lighting, there is much to be done.

Sport is vital to complement a child's education and I would suggest the greater utilisation of existing facilities, i.e. more than one club using grounds would enable greater participation.  

I don’t have enough information to be able to answer this question but councils and sporting groups can advise me.

Everyone should be able to get involved in active sport which is great for health and builds connections in the community.

I need to review how our local clubs are managing, and whether sports are available to all genders, abilities and ages.

More sharing of facilities is one option but I’d look for advice for others. 

Goldstein, including all of Bayside and parts of Glen Eira, has a considerable amount of sporting facilities from athletics, ovals, fields and courts as well as aquatic facilities adjacent to the beach. However facilities are always a concern, the rise in women and girls sport teams is a fantastic and much welcome development, as well as overall increase in sport participation. This does mean there is a need for more facilities including / especially club and change facilities, Labor is committed to assigning sports grants in a more needs-based fashion than has occurred in the past 9 years. Locally I am committed to working with Local and State Governments to support and fund needed local facilities. 

• While our physical environment is precious and warrants protection, sporting infrastructure – both physical and social – is also critical to the way of life for so many Goldstein residents.

• I would strongly advocate for Federal grants to help fund and maintain critical physical infrastructure, such as sports grounds and lifesaving clubs

• I would advocate for girls sport facilities and fair girls’ access to existing facilities, women’s change rooms and other critical infrastructure including all gender toilet facilities to support gender equality in sport.

• I would also advocate for Federal grants for critical projects that would provide the residents of Goldstein with necessary amenities. One key example is the redevelopment of the iconic Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool, which is used by many Goldstein residents. Glen Eira City Council is asking for $10 million of the $52 million dollar cost of this redevelopment, to be contributed by the Federal Government. If elected, I would be a strong advocate for projects such as these.

• Similarly, I would advocate for Federal contributions to projects such as hydrotherapy pools. Bayside Council closed its hydrotherapy pool in 2002, and local residents have campaigned for a replacement ever since. This is because hydrotherapy pools offer a crucial means for the elderly and people with disabilities to exercise safely, improving not just their physical, but also their mental health. Fortunately, Bayside Council acknowledges the many advantages of such a project, however, additional Federal funding will be necessary, to bring this project to fruition.

I’m not really qualified to answer this question! It appears that we have a lot to offer in sports facilities. A few observations for improvement that I would advocate for:

• Increase interactive parks with exercise equipment for public use.

• Make more leisure sports equipment available at parks and reserves – eg basketball  / netball rings, soccer nets.

• Keep public school facilities accessible to the community on weekends and after classes.

With questions like these, I’ll invite community feedback via Facebook, community letterboxes and other channels to properly understand the issues and seek suggestions from the locals on how they think we should resolve them. I can then advocate the right funding allocations in parliament.