Former Kyabram Council mayor Chris Salter contacted Victorian Community Sport Minister Ros Spence asking for immediate intervention in the upgrades, which are expected to begin construction in July.
In the letter he sent on Tuesday, March 4, he outlined concerned community members’ worries regarding the project, saying the “project was forced” and it didn’t meet the standards of the Equity and Inclusion grant criteria.
He wrote user bodies would be “worse off” due to lost space across the pavilion, the loss of ramp access to the function room upstairs and worse accessibility.
He wrote that female users “deserve a facility on an extended footprint” and that Kyabram’s expected population growth should be accounted for — he believes it hasn’t.
Speaking with the Free Press, Mr Salter said he wrote to Ms Spence on behalf of “concerned community members” so she would talk to Campaspe Shire Council and “put pressure” on it to use the money in a better way.
“We understand … the minister can’t just come in and change it … we’re saying to them help us put enough pressure (on council),” he said
“We just want a sensible outcome for that amount of money.”
He believes the $3.2 million project budget will be wasted if council refuses to explore the option of a stand-alone building next to the netball courts.
“(Council) have done a great job of getting (the grant). But ... you’re spending it for the sake of spending it. Let’s put it to the best use,” he said.
“Why should the women be put behind the men in the football club pavilion?”
When asked whom he consulted before writing the letter, Mr Salter said he spoke with a few of the netballers at a meeting with state Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh and the cricket club president, but no female cricket players.
When asked if he would rather have the change rooms as proposed, or none, Mr Salter said he would not answer that question directly, as the group “never had the chance to see the plans”.
“Go ahead the way it is; fine, wreck the football club,” he said.
“We see it as stupidity to spend all that money knocking out walls in an old building downstairs trying to create something that will nowhere near be modern or up to date with present times.”
Ms Spence said the purpose of the grant was to ensure women and girls could “play the sports they want to in Kyabram”.
The project falls under council’s delivery, in accordance with the funding agreement, and the grant to redevelop the pavilion was approved by the minister, consistent with the Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund guidelines.
A spokesperson for the minister said council’s application for the project had included community consultation and letters of support from all local clubs.
“Sporting clubs at all levels should be safe and welcoming environments for all and Victoria is proud to lead the nation in creating a level playing field for women and girls in sport,” Ms Spence said.
Speaking with the Free Press, Mr Walsh said “a perception has been created” that if user groups rejected plans put forward by council the $3.2 million project budget would be lost — a perception Mr Walsh sees as “mischievous”.
A main talking point at the February council meeting discussing the pavilion was the potential to harm the council’s reputation with the government if the grant was not used correctly in the allocated time before August 2026.
“The minister’s chief of staff said to me, we are not in the business of taking grants away from the community,” Mr Walsh said.
“There is opportunity for ... a better outcome ... provided it actually achieves the intent of the grant.
“It’s about the community and the user groups explaining to council how they believe they can get better value for council in delivering that.”
Mr Walsh said the facilities, as they stood, were a “disgrace” by the standards of today.
“The intent of everyone ... is about making sure (facilities) do get better; it’s about how that’s done and getting some common sense back into the debate,” he said.
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