Ms ROSOL (Bass) – Honourable Deputy Speaker, I rise to speak about the opening of the newly redeveloped Windsor Oval. On Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the opening of the oval at Windsor Park by Christina Holmdahl, along with Launceston Football Club president Scott Stephens and AFL Tasmania state participation and programs manager Aaron Roberts.
Windsor Oval was first constructed in 1968 and has been home for the Launceston Football Club for the last 50 years, noting that the Launceston Football Club has been in existence for 150 years, which is evidence that football has been strong in Tasmania’s history for a very long time.
The Windsor Oval has undergone a $2 million redevelopment over the last few months that sees both a new surface and lighting upgrades. The works conducted include a re-levelling of the oval surface, new drainage systems installed, sand slitting irrigation, the establishment of a 100-millimetre sand mattress, reseeding as well as new perimeter fencing and improved lighting. I had the opportunity to speak to one of the contractors for the works and they stepped me through some of what was involved, and it is quite impressive.
At the opening, I had the opportunity to see the outcome of all that work up close as we stood on the grass for the ceremony. I am no expert but the surface was a sight to behold and it is now likely the second best football-playing surface after the York Park stadium surface, or so I am told. I know that is a tough call to make because as well as York Park, Legana Oval was opened recently and provides another excellent oval with a great playing surface. Regardless of which playing surface really is the best, we are spoilt for choice in playing fields in Bass and that is how it should be. Everyone should have access to quality sporting facilities where they live. As Mayor Holmdahl said in her opening address:
It is well known that the benefits of sport are endless by creating healthier communities, building resilience, strength and cooperation.
We are making progress on sporting facilities and, as I have said, Bass has a number of great facilities that have been upgraded recently. However, there remain communities with minimal or poor-quality grounds and courts. We know that different football codes and other sports do not have access to the same great facilities, making it difficult for people to engage in sport at the level they may want to. We know that people do want to participate in sport. On Saturday it was great to see so many people on the oval with their teams all across the age groups and the genders.
I could not help but draw the parallel and think about the fuss being made about the Macquarie Point stadium and the wonders it will supposedly do for sport participation. However, let us not pretend that a stadium at Macquarie Point will suddenly have everyone playing local sport. It is local facilities that will have everyone playing local sport.
Standing in front of me on Saturday was the real heart of sport, the real arena for sporting engagement and participation. People from Launceston and the West Tamar were able to go along to their local sporting field and get involved in their local club. They did not need a billion-dollar stadium at the other end of the state. They did not need to travel a long distance to watch other people play sport while they sat in the stands. That is if they could even afford to travel and get a ticket. No, these people showed up at their local playing field to play with their local team, and this story is played out right across the state. Local communities getting fit together, participating, connecting with others and enjoying the health and social benefits of playing sport in a group.
This government can go on and on about how wonderful the stadium will be for the state and what it will do for the future, but it does not stack up. The stadium will cost at least$1 billion, it will put us into $2 billion of debt, it will suck resources out of services that Tasmanians need and the so-called benefits of increased participation can be achieved without it. We certainly do not need the stadium to do those things. They are already happening. We know that. I saw it with my own eyes on Saturday.
Congratulations to West Tamar Council on the opening of Windsor Oval. Congratulations to Launceston Football Club on a significant win on Saturday. May we as a state be honest about what we need, reject this expensive, unnecessary stadium and instead invest in community sport and community facilities that actually do make a difference to people’s health and wellbeing.
