Katherine Aquatic Centre: Jo Hersey MLA raises fears $10m grant will not go far enough
A Big Rivers council has unveiled plans for the redevelopment of its 43-year-old pool, but the town’s MLA fears there’s not nearly enough cash for what’s proposed.
Northern Territory
Don't miss out on the headlines from Northern Territory. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Big Rivers council has unveiled plans for the redevelopment of its 43-year-old pool, which closed in March due to infrastructure failure, but the town’s representative in the Legislative Assembly fears there’s not enough cash.
Katherine Town Council had hoped to nurture its ageing aquatic centre with new bells and whistles, aided by a $10m commonwealth grant, but the pool shell cracked, causing a complete closure “sooner than we would have liked or were prepared for”.
The council has now taken an important step towards reviving the facility, lodging an application with the Development Consent Authority.
According to the plans, the upgrades will consist of an interior refurbishment of the 50m lap pool, a new 25m pool with ramp access and a retractable shade structure, a new shaded leisure pool with “beach wet play area”, an “amenities village” containing change rooms and storage, and various landscaping, plant and electrical equipment.
In a bid to manage expectations, Katherine Mayor Elisabeth Clark has said on a number of occasions that the $10m grant would not stretch as far as many in the community had hoped, in light of ongoing material and labour inflation.
But Country Liberal Party MLA Jo Hersey, who represents the seat of Katherine, says instead of managing expectations, the NT government and the Big Rivers councils, Katherine, Roper Gulf and Victoria Daly, should all chip in to support the new facility.
“The pool project has just over $10m allocated. This will not be enough to cover what is needed,” she wrote recently on social media.
“We are in the middle of the Big Rivers region and service 21,000 people across the region. “We deserve a first-class pool facility.”
Speaking to this masthead, Ms Hersey queried why Katherine Town Council weren’t putting in any of its own money to support the redevelopment.
“I’ve had all these conversations with them, they say they don’t have any money,” she said. “Well, don’t put out for a project if you don’t have any money for it.”
Ms Clark told this masthead via text message the proposal had been costed and the council was confident it could be delivered within budget.
The suggestion of other councils partially funding the pool upgrade was met with resistance by at least one Daly River small businesswoman, who asked why Victoria Daly funds should be spent in Katherine.
“It’s not part of our shire and there is plenty of need in our region,” she wrote in response to Ms Hersey.
“We never go to Katherine, nor do people out this way, it’s always Darwin.
“So do our rates and funding need to go into Darwin as well?”
And it appears NTG is unlikely to answer the call, although it did chip in $300,000 towards design and consultation.
When Alice Springs Town Council asked for ongoing funding to make its pool free, in light of the program’s success during the Summer in Central Australia Action Plan, Chief Minister Eva Lawler said her government was not in the business of funding municipal pools.
More Coverage
Originally published as Katherine Aquatic Centre: Jo Hersey MLA raises fears $10m grant will not go far enough
Parliament live blog: Likely passage of younger criminal age a ‘dark day’
The third sitting day of the 15th Legislative Assembly is about to commence. The CLP has passed Declan’s Law and will look to sheet home its three other law and order bills.
‘Worked to ensure Territorians had a say’: 50 years of democracy in the NT
The Northern Territory’s first Legislative Assembly had little power, yet made an over-sized contribution after Cyclone Tracy. Fifty years since it first sat, see why it is still significant.