Established in 1924 as the
proudly serving Brimbank and the North West
23 JUNE, 2026
Game, set and match
(Damjan Janevski). 560178_03
Keilor’s Daniel Vadnjal is bursting with pride. The 23-year-old has been selected as part of a 29-strong Melbourne West team for the Special Olympics Australia National Games, which will be held in Melbourne from 19-23 October. Story: Page 3.
Big budget blow By Laura Michell The Sunshine Park Tennis Club committee is devastated that funding to upgrade its clubrooms has been left out of Brimbank council’s budget once again. The club and its members made 23 submissions regarding the council’s 2026-27 draft budget, urging it to include the works in the fi nal budget. However, the request was rejected by council officers and a majority of councillors during a 16 June council meeting, despite a push from Cr Daniel Kruk for the project to be included. Council initially allocated a $12 million package for sports facility upgrades at JR
Parsons Recreation Reserve – the home of the tennis club – in its 2023-24 budget, but that funding was withdrawn in December 2023. Funding to upgrade the reserve’s cricket and football pavilion was preserved. Cr Kruk asked his colleagues to allocate $50,000 in the 2026-27 budget for the fi nal design phase of the works, stating the money could come from the budget’s existing community and sports facilities pre-planning and investigation allocation. “Th is amendment here is to right a wrong … and ensure the club has got a fi nal plan in place for an upgrade in the pipeline,” he said.
However, a report to council recommended against including the project, urging council to stick to its Sports Facility Development Plan, which lists upgrades in order of priority. According to the report, Sunshine Park Tennis Club is the next priority for sports pavilions following completion of the JR Parsons cricket-football pavilion, which is currently under construction. Cr Victoria Borg said adding the project to the budget would “set a precedent” and lead to other clubs expecting they could move their projects up the list. Sunshine Park Tennis Club president Craig Vaughan said the clubrooms were built in the 1960s and were no longer
fit-for-purpose. “As a club committee, we are devastated that funding for the new clubrooms has again been left out of the council budget for 2026-27,” he said. “The fact that the clubrooms were promised, and plans were fi nalised and signed off several years ago, makes it all the more difficult to accept. “There is no scope to renovate the existing structure. The rooms only face two courts and not the other four, the changerooms are not fit-for-purpose, and the building is full of asbestos.” Council also rejected a request for infrastructure improvements at Keilor Park Soccer Club, despite receiving 192 submissions about the works.
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