Save Our Sport: Gympie community consultation for sport funding begins
As the Gympie council undertakes talks with sporting interests across the region for feedback on how it proposes to spend $900k in funding, an outspoken advocate says the best thing to do, given the council’s financial situation, is to develop the land it already owns. Vote in our poll
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Gympie Regional Council is holding talks with sporting groups to discuss the reinstated $900,000 funding to support sport in the region.
Five sessions will be held between July 27 and August 10, where sporting groups will watch a presentation proposing where the funding will go and offer feedback.
The council reinstated $900,000 in funding for the sporting sector in this financial year’s budget, after $1 million was pulled in the aftermath of various flood disasters in 2022.
News of the funding being removed caused an uproar within the community, especially from sporting groups still rebuilding after the floods who were forced to share overcrowded facilities with other clubs.
The Gympie Times has since campaigned to have sport recognised and nurtured in the region, given the vital role it plays in social cohesion, and physical and mental health (see links to previous SOS: Save Our Sport below).
The reinstated funding in the 2022-23 council budget was geared towards finding and purchasing land to allow the region’s squeezed sports groups to expand.
Gympie PE teacher and athlete Daniel Green, who launched the Grow Gympie Sports Facebook page and has been outspoken about the need to invest in sport in Gympie, said he appreciated the council’s initiative to involve sporting groups in the process.
Mr Green told The Gympie Times when the funding was reinstated that he hoped there would be discussions with sporting clubs on where the money would go.
“I just hope they’re open to further ideas and don’t just come to us with a plan … there has to be fair communication both ways,” he said.
The entire Gympie sporting sector was affected by the earlier funding cuts, some worse than others in the wake of the floods, but Mr Green said he hoped the solution would benefit everyone.
“We’re a sporting community … we made it clear within our individual groups we want everyone to grow,” he said.
“We don’t need a bandaid, we need everything covered, not just patched to keep people quiet and keep them happy.”
Mr Green suggested investing in the various parcels of land around the region as a long-term solution, saying the council was “cash poor, asset rich”.
“There’s only so much that can be done, but the council is in a position where there is land all around.
“Nearly every estate has a park dedicated to it with a playground in the middle of it, I’m sure they can … invest in it.
“People just need to keep themselves occupied when there’s no availability there … otherwise they bore themselves to death.”
Four community consultation nights remain around the region, including at the Rainbow Beach Community Centre at 6.30pm on August 2; the Kilkivan Hall Supper Room at 6.30pm on August 3; the Gympie Pavilion at 6pm on August 9 and the Imbil RSL Hall at 6.30pm on August 10.
SOS - Save Our Sport Campaign so far:
Gympie Times Campaign: Save Our Sport
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Originally published as Save Our Sport: Gympie community consultation for sport funding begins
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