savesunshinepool.com

[Save Sunshine Pool]

Clayton outdoor pool - Fully repaired.

Glen Waverley pool - Residents complained about poor quality change rooms: 20 million dollar upgrade - marginal seat.

Fitzroy outdoor pool - Full repair

Sunshine outdoor pools - To be covered with car parks and a road!

Brimbank Council claim that the repair of the Sunshine Pool is a 'new development' and 'new developments' need to have car parks.

The Sunshine Pool has been in the same spot for forty years!

After ten years of waiting, 5 years of lobbying, our community has made it clear to councillors and the State Labour Government that we need an outdoor pool in our community also.

The least amount of aquatic facilities in Victoria.

One of the highest youth populations in Victoria.

One of the most disadvantaged communites in Victoria.

Next to zero community facilties.

Our reward for voting in Labour backed council representatives, Labour State representatives and Labour Federal representatives:

"We will fix your pool allright, we will cover it with a road and car parks! And how dare you complain! Bring in security guards!"

(See how much car parking space around the pool site on our home page)

How does something like this happen?

All of our representatives, local and state labour keep passing the buck: "It is the council's fault."

" It is the State Governments fault"

"Keep at it" is what we hear.

Over the coming weeks savesunshinepool.com will profile each of the representatives and managers that we feel are responsible for this incompetence and scandal. Those that are neglectful of the rights of the citizens and youth of Sunshine.

There are any number of our local representatives that could have stood up and said: "We have a problem here, the need is unlike any other in any other city in Australia. I will stand up and fight for the people in this municipality until the pools are repaired or redeveloped."

But instead all we have are people who point the finger the other way, who do not return phone calls, who insist that the process is confidential. We actually have representatives who say "We are fixing the pool..." when they intend to put car parks over it... We have representatives who put out full page ad's saying we have saved the pool!

To say that the people of this municipality have had a gut full is a mild understatement.

We are beyond frustration and just plain straight up angry.

So how does a community starved of aquatic and recreational facilites have their local swimming pool neglected for 12 years and then, after protesting for 5 years, end up in the position that the council plan to cover it over with car parks despite the swimming site being surrounded by car parks?

Let's take a sneak preview of the people who are responsible for this ridiculous situation. The people who want to cover our outdoor pools with car parks and roads, the people responsible for stalling the process; the people who have ensured that a generation of teenagers have missed out on aquatic experiences and who want to ensure that there is no outdoor water leisure in Sunshine ever.

Marylin Duncan - CEO of the Brimbank Council
Marylin has been the CEO at Brimbank for years. At the recent pre-budget question time at council, Marylin openly scowled at each member of the community who requested funding for sporting or recreational facilities. In my opinion the biggest scowl was targeted at the community representative who requested information and consultation about the Sunshine Pool redevelopment.

Many residents believe that Marylin is on a very high annual wage but that she receives bonuses for keeping the council debt down. She has achieved her bonuses each year by selling off our community assets. i.e. The new pool site at HV Mackay was sold for $3 million, the gym and youth centre that was once 'The Hub' was sold off... One resident estimates that during Marylin's time as CEO that between $30 and $40 million of our community assets have been sold off. Many of our recreational facilities are allowed to become run down, through lack of maintenance, and then closed down or sold off!

Marylin also runs an extremly tight and closed shop so that the truth about what is happening to our community facilities is rarely made public. A recent example of this relates to the pool. Several community representatives who were involved in the reference group for the re-development of the Sunshine Pool last year, asked council in June 2004 for an update of the process. Where was council up to with the planning, when would the community consultation begin etc. Marylin replied almost two months later! And the reply: Find attached FOI request documents...

More about Marylin next week...

Ian Douglas - Brimbank Councilor
Ian is the councilor responsible for the area which surrounds the pool. Three years ago he was elected on the basis that he would 'Save the Pool'. On close inspection of his election pamphlet it showed a plan of the pool site with the outdoor pool covered by car parks. $100,000 of consultant money later the new proposed plans is virtually identical to the plan on his 'I Saved the Pool' pamphlet!

How, in anyone's mind, can covering pools over with car parks be seen as 'Saving a Pool'?

At the last public council meeting a resident asked Ian "When will the community consultation for the Sunshine Swim and Leisure centre begin?"

Ian Douglas stood up and said "The consultation process began in 2000." (4 years ago!)

The interesting thing is that in the past 4 years there has not been one community meeting about the pool called by the council. Phone calls are rarely returned. Ian has been abusive to residents in relation to the pool re-development.

The recent Brimbank Aquatic Strategy did not allow discussion of the redevelopment of the Sunshine Pool.

One would think that Ian should be the one standing up for our area and attempting to achieve a reasonable outcome for our pool repair or redevelopment. Instead he has become one of our biggest obstacles.

More on Ian shortly...


We are talking to many people close to the council and will be revealing more about the power brokers who are doing nothing about repairing the Sunshine Pool properly, but intend to cover it in car parks.

Some of the other key players involved in this debarkle who need to stand up and do something solid for this community include:

Nicola Roxson
Justin Madden
Premier Steve Bracks
Bruce Mildenhall
Telmo Languiller
Cr Sam David
Cr Natalie Suleyman
Cr Lisa North
Cr Margaret Giudice
Cr Troy Atanasovski
Cr Sam Tabban
Cr Jessica Minutoli
Cr Dorothy Costa
Carol Julian


Over the coming weeks we will look at each of these key players and discuss their role and position regarding the Sunshine Swim and Leisure Centre...

If you would like to add any comments about your experience with any of the above please email us at contact@savesunshinepool.com or post it to:

SaveSunshinePool
PO Box 71
Robinson
VIC 3019


The pool groups are getting together and will be announcing a major community gathering outside of the pool with the local and state press invited. All residents, schools and local sporting clubs will be invited.

The lack of consultation and incompetence over the past year, over the past 5 years, over the last 12 years relating to our local pool has come to a head. Those in our community who have been following what is going on are infuriated. It is time that this scandal is exposed on a grand scale and that those who are responsible or passing the buck on this pull their bloody heads in and do their job for once.
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Brimbank has a population of over 170,000 people and has only one outdoor pool. Most other councils have 5 - 12 outdoor pools. Brimbank also has close to the worst health status in Victoria. But the Council and the State Government demolished 3 outdoor pools in Sunshine.

A 25 Metre pool is now finally scheduled to be built at Sunshine and opened in November 2008

Join in the campaign to have the pools repaired or replaced properly now!