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December
2005: Natalie cheered and applauded when previous Mayor Sam David threatened gallery with cancelling the whole pool redevelopment process. 14 years and the 'Labor Team' has refused to repair or adeqately replace our 50 metre pool. It is time for the community to rally and raise funds so we can fix the pool ourselves - like we did in the late 50's when we first built the bloody thing. October
2005: Its 13 years now and our three outdoor pools are still
not repaired. Reports by consultants have indicated the remaining
25 metre - 6 lane indoor pool is the most used pool in Victoria.
It is so over crowded that less than 30% of the population bother
going there anymore. And now $7.6 million dollars of community
and State Government funds later, and Brimbank Council have applied
for a permit to build a three foot deep indoor pool - and
to bury the Olympic Pool and two other outdoor pools forever... October 2005: Brimbank Council rejects plan to build an outdoor pool. Recreation manager Carol Julian claims council will review the situation in 2 or 3 years time. i.e. It will be 16 years before they even consider building or fixing our outdoor pools. Two generations of teenagers won't swim...ever! October 2005: Dept Victorian Communities survey indicates Brimbank is the least active of Victoria's 79 local government areas and has very poor recreation and leisure facilities and infrastructures. Will Justin Madden allow the councillors to spend State Government funds on a useless three foot deep pool with no masterplan, no thought for 2030 and let them bury hundreds of square metres of existing aquatic space? August 2005: Council confirms intentions to build a 3 foot deep wading pool as replacement to the 50 metre pool. Council ignores fact that Sunshine has the least aquatic space in Victoria. Labour Unity Councillor Ian Douglas states he has had talks with union officials in council. Union officials say there was no contact and that bans remain in place. April
2005: Sunshine Swim and Leisure centre redevelopment still
not included in the Brimbank Aquatic Strategy...
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- Many residents believed that the struggle was finally over and common sense had prevailed, however, in the finest print, by way of a tiny diagram on the rear of the pamphlet, the keenest observer may have noticed that SAVING THE POOL for Ian Douglas meant filling it in and replacing it with a car park! The Saving the Pool bit alluded to some minor repairs which would be performed on the tiny and stuffy Leisure Centre indoor pool. - Predominately on the basis of this misconception (lie) which was perpetuated by this pamphlet and in local newspaper reports, Councilor Douglas was voted into council by the tiniest margin of 80 votes! - Councilor Douglas was on the reference group which was put together because of community pressure. The reference group process was very closed and at no stage did the key players entertain the thought of repairing the 50 metre pool. The car park, it became apparent, was always on the agenda. Now, not only have they agreed on a car park, but they have also decided to put a road over the 50 metre pool. - The reference group gave the impression that they were prepared to fix our pools in a two stage process, however, once the reference group process was over Ian Douglas, after having verbally agreed to a two stage process ,has now come out and said that the new design will cater for 95% of the community! Yes, that's right folks, Ian Douglas has stood up in council and said that there would be no stage 2 development and that the new repairs (at a cost of 5.9 million dollars) will satisfy 95% of the population. This is despite the fact the the new improvements will leave us with less than 60% of the water space we had ten years ago! The new tiny pool that they are proposing will supposedly cater for 95% of the population even though we have the lowest aquatic facilities in Victoria and our population is growing. Hell, they even want Sunshine to be a key area in the 2030 plans! But we have no facilities sir. - Councilor Douglas profile page on the Brimbank website says that he is committed to fulfilling the redevelopment of the Sunshine Swim and Leisure Centre. For Ian, this really means turning the outdoor pool into a car park. (According to a brochure he produced and answers to questions on August 14 2003) - Councilor Douglas when questioned has never budged on the fact that the 50 metre pool will be turned into a car park. This is the bloke who is supposed to be saving our pool. - Why won't these people fix our outdoor pool? What is the hidden agenda? We invite Ian Douglas to send us an email as a right of reply and we will publish it here on receipt. Contact Ian Douglas and other councilors or let the media know about what is going on in Sunshine: Click here
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A current member for council, Councilor
Ian Douglas, did a mail drop throughout
the Brimbank area two weeks before the
2003 council elections. The pamphlet was
entitled in big bold and blazing letters:
WE HAVE SAVED THE POOL.