CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Ms ALDRED (Monash—Opposition Whip) (16:16): Regional Victorians are sick of being treated as an afterthought. That is the clear, strong message that I've received across the Monash electorate, especially last week at my mobile office in San Remo, which I jointly hosted with the Liberal candidate for Bass, Rochelle Halstead. Across our community, local clubs, volunteers and families are doing the heavy lifting while state and federal Labor governments continue to leave regions in Victoria behind.
A perfect example is the Phillip Island sports hub—something I'm particularly passionate about. Before the election, I secured a $10 million commitment by the coalition to support the Phillip Island sports hub. It's a project that would support local sporting clubs, including the Phillip Island Football Netball Club, and help deliver facilities a growing community like Bass Coast desperately needs.
Anyone who has visited the club knows it is bursting at the seams. Participation continues to grow, volunteers continue to step up, and the demand on facilities continues to increase. Yet, when the opportunity came to back this project, Labor refused to match the commitment and refused to properly acknowledge the needs of local clubs and the communities in which they serve.
Regional communities should not have to beg for the infrastructure that metropolitan areas and capital cities take for granted. What makes this even more frustrating is that Victorians are carrying record levels of state debt which is now being visited upon volunteer and community organisations. The Allan Labor government's debt clock is ticking so fast that, while families spend an afternoon watching a couple of games of football, Victoria's debt increases by enough money to build the very clubrooms, change rooms and community facilities that local organisations are crying out for.
The money is being borrowed. The debt is being accumulated. Yet regional communities are still waiting for the infrastructure that they desperately need.
That's why I want to acknowledge the state Liberal candidate for Bass, Rochelle Halstead, who I've been working very closely with right across the Bass Coast community and particularly last week in Phillip Island. Rochelle isn't a fly-in fly-out politician. She's a genuine local who's built and run a family small business in the Bass community.
She cares passionately about the local area and has dedicated countless hours to it as mayor and as a local sporting community champion. I know she'll stand up for the Bass Coast community, and, as a state and federal Liberal team, we will fight to get things done for Bass Coast. Rochelle's doing a great job on the ground, and I look forward to working with her to get the investment our region needs.