Labor candidate for Bunbury Don Punch has called on the Liberal-National government to immediately fix the sub-standard facilities at Bunbury’s premier sporting venue Hands Oval.
Mr Punch said there were clear problems with the grandstand, public toilets, catering and change-room facilities and the coalition had laid idle for eight years without fixing them.
He said the facilities were an embarrassment to Bunbury and called on the coalition to make Hands Oval a priority and immediately fund key upgrades.
Mr Punch’s comments come after Nationals candidate for Bunbury James Hayward promised an urgent multi-million dollar upgrade to the facility should he be elected in March.
“The minister for sport is a Nationals member of parliament and the Nationals candidate for Bunbury is a councillor with the City of Bunbury,” Mr Punch said.
“This does not need to wait for an election, they can fund it now.
“Years of inaction by the Liberal-National government and particularly the lack of support by the Nationals has led to the decline of Hands Oval.
“The Nationals are part of the government and repeatedly tell us they have a billion dollars a year to spend on regional WA. Why once again does Bunbury have to wait behind every other regional centre in the state to have a key problem fixed?”
Mr Punch said Hands Oval is a leading example of neglect by the coalition at a time when over a billion dollars is being spent on the new Perth Stadium.
“The only reason Hands Oval and Bunbury are now being overlooked by key sports codes as a venue is because this government has not fixed the problem," Mr Punch said.
“Hands Oval is not only the iconic home of football in the South West, it is also the region’s premier sporting venue.
“In the past we have hosted AFL matches, international rules training sessions and international cricket at Hands Oval and national league soccer.”
