The Liberal and Nationals have pledged that if they are returned to Government, they will contribute to bringing the Tuffins Lane Playing Fields up-to-scratch with a $2 million funding injection into drainage improvements to this important community-owned precinct.
The large venue, with multiple playing fields, is currently used for cricket, rugby league, rugby union, touch football and Oz Tag, hosting both local and state events in the past. However, the fields are regularly closed as a result of weather events causing conditions that are unsuitable for play.
Federal Member for Cowper Pat Conaghan thanked Mayor Adam Roberts for bringing the critical upgrades to his attention and said he was pleased to be able to assist with the development of a path forward to see the fields restored and safe-guarded for future events.
“As soon as I was notified of the dire need for the drainage improvements to be made in order to retain our current schedule of sporting events in the region, I escalated the issue in our party room and secured the funding pledge within a matter of days,” Mr Conaghan said.
“The Nationals know exactly what assets like this mean to regional communities. And over the past three years, we have seen funding streams that cater to this ripped away from our local councils. I and my colleagues are committed to righting those wrongs and reinvigorating the levels of funding that regional communities like ours were able to access prior to the last election,” Mr Conaghan said.
“Our communities have been ignored by Labor for the past three years and funds reallocated to metro and peri-urban areas. That needs to stop. We need to make sure that our existing assets are modernised and maintained, not only to secure our current standard of living, but to allow for our region’s growth into the future.”
Port Macquarie Hastings Mayor Adam Roberts said he was relieved to see the Liberal and Nationals’ commitment to the project and thanked Pat for taking this issue to the party room to seek funding support which would enable meaningful collaboration with Port Macquarie Hastings Council for the benefit of locals and visitors to the region.
“The Tuffins Lane fields are a huge asset to our community, both for local schools and for the overflow of our larger competitions like the NSW State Cup Touch Football tournament. I met with NSW Touch Football Association President Dean Russell just recently, where we discussed council’s plans to tackle the well-known drainage issues, so this announcement will hopefully go a long way to retaining one of our premier sporting carnivals that brings millions of dollars of visitor economy spend each year. With so many of our sporting grounds needing upgrades to keep up with the demands of a rapidly growing region, the Tuffins Lane Sports Fields are high on the priority list to upgrade due to the major sporting events that could be retained or attracted with the right investment in key upgrades, such as drainage for this particular site.”
