North Sydney Olympic Pool: Trent Zimmerman MP defends funding
As far as public swimming pools go it couldn’t get any closer to Sydney’s CBD and yet the city’s most Instagrammable pool has secured a $10 million slice of funding set aside for struggling regional communites. And people aren’t happy.
Mosman
Don't miss out on the headlines from Mosman. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A row has broken out over federal funding for North Sydney Olympic Pool.
Concerns have been raised over the source of the $10 million funding package the government has set aside for the crumbling Sydney icon.
Councillor Zoe Baker is angered that the funding is to be provided from a specific grant program she said is designed to support the provision of women’s change facilities in regional and remote communities.
“I am appalled that there is so little transparency and accountability in the administration of these federal funds,” Cr Baker said.
“As far as I am aware, North Sydney Council did not make a formal grant application for funds under this program and I find it difficult to justify that a metropolitan Council would receive funds earmarked under a grant scheme for regional and remote communities in need.
“We have a moral responsibility as a country to ensure that federal funds are distributed in a fair and just way to ensure maximum benefit to all communities from the limited funds available.”
North Sydney MP Trent Zimmerman has brushed off the criticism. The funding promise was announced at a pre-election poolside event last year attended by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and North Sydney Mayor Jilly Gibson.
He said the funding is from a program established to support development of female change room facilities at sporting grounds and community swimming facilities across Australia, adding that the Prime Minister made this clear when he announced the scheme in March 2019.
“I’m proud that during the Federal Election Campaign I was able to secure a Coalition election commitment to contribute $10 million to North Sydney Council’s project,” Mr Zimmerman said.
“I am surprised that Councillor Zoe Baker has raised concerns about Federal government support for projects in her own municipality.
“Particularly when it was her that first moved a motion at Council on 7 December 2015, requesting me to secure Federal funding for the North Sydney Pool.”
The minutes from the meeting show that Cr Baker instigated a push for funding from the federal government. Her motion requests that council write to Mr Zimmerman, who was newly elected at the time, requesting government funding for the upgrade of the pool. Her idea got the support of all the elected councillors.
The development of the pool, which is set to cost close to $60 million, has caused divisions on the council. In March of last year Cr Baker and two other councillors voted against a motion on the chosen design and on making an appeal to the local state and federal ministers for government funding.
Mayor Jilly Gibson said the historic pool is a regional facility and is not a typical suburban pool. She said it is up to the government as to how they organise their funding and pointed out that as a safe Liberal seat, North Sydney gets very little in the way of funding.
“It services people from right across NSW and our customers are overseas tourists,” Cr Gibson said.
“It’s a regional facility. The change rooms were built in 1936 and have never been refurbished.
“Cr Baker’s comments are curious considering she started the lobbying process for federal funding back in 2015 … It’s sad that she wants to play petty politics with this vital community asset.”
The controversy comes in wake of the sports club funding scandal that saw the resignation of Senator Bridget McKenzie as deputy Nationals leader. An auditor-general report revealed Senator McKenzie had allocated grants to clubs in marginal seats.
The pool is in such poor condition that the popular NYE party held there every year was cancelled over safety fears.