Media Release

Federal Member for Bean David Smith has welcomed the ACT Government’s commitment that the $16.265 million set aside for the Tuggeranong ice sports centre will stay in Tuggeranong, but says the decision to abandon the rink leaves ice sports without a home and Canberra’s south still waiting for the major facility it was promised ten years ago.

The ACT Government announced today that it would not proceed with the planned ice sports centre in Greenway after it was unable to reach agreement with delivery partners Cruachan Investments and Pelligra Group. ACT Minister for Sport and Recreation Chris Steel said every dollar of the committed funding would be invested in sport and recreation infrastructure for Tuggeranong.

“I welcome Minister Steel’s assurance that this money stays local. After ten years of waiting, the last thing Tuggeranong residents needed to hear was that the funding would be allocated to another part of the city. Keeping it here was the right call,” Mr Smith said.

“I understand the Government’s concerns about value for money. When the funding required more than doubles from the original figure, taxpayers are entitled to expect hard questions to be asked.

“But I also want to acknowledge the ice sports community, and in particular Sandi Logan and the ACT Ice Sports Federation, who have advocated for this project for a decade. Their disappointment today is entirely understandable.

“Ice sports still need a home in Canberra. Figure skating, ice dance, broomball, junior, senior and recreational ice hockey, and now curling, are all operating out of an ageing rink at Phillip that was supposed to have been replaced years ago. The Canberra Brave are filling the AIS Arena. The demand is real and growing. The Minister has said the Government will keep engaging on the future of ice sports in the ACT, and I will be holding him to that.

“There is also a bigger question here for Tuggeranong. In 2016 this community was promised a major new sporting facility, something the whole of Canberra’s south could be proud of. The $16 million figure was set a decade ago and it does not buy today what it could buy then. Spreading it across upgrades to existing facilities is welcome, but it is not the signature project Tuggeranong was promised.

“I spend a lot of my weekends at sporting events across Tuggeranong, and I see the same thing everywhere I go. The clubs are strong and participation keeps growing, but the facilities have not kept pace. Many were built when the valley was first developed and they are showing their age. Players, parents, coaches, and volunteers tell me every week that Tuggeranong deserves better.

“Federal Labor has been doing its part. At the last two federal elections I secured $800,000 for new and upgraded courts at Weston Creek Tennis Club and $950,000 for upgraded facilities at Chisholm Cricket Oval. Those are the practical local investments that keep community sport going across Canberra’s south, but there is more to do.

“I would welcome the opportunity to work with Minister Steel and the ACT Government to deliver the major sporting facility the people of Canberra’s south deserve,” Mr Smith said.