I can still remember my favourite playground when I was growing up. Springfield Park near my childhood home in Box Hill North, it seemed to me a place of dreams and endless adventure. It was a place my mum could take me for a break, I could run amok, yell and scream, play with other children, kick the footy, soar high on the swings and occasionally give myself the odd cut and bruise.
Generations of children in Montrose will now be able to enjoy their own state-of-the-art playground and upgraded recreation reserve with the help of a $660,000 Federal Government Regional Partnerships grant.

It will mean the dream of the Montrose Recreation Reserve Inc can be fulfilled and the Montrose Recreation Reserve Masterplan can become a reality.

So far, the plans include updating the main oval, extending the training oval, relocating the netball courts, re-surfacing the tennis courts and upgrading the pavilion.

The upgrade of the pavilion will also involve redeveloping it to become a multi-purpose facility with new change rooms, showers and toilets and disabled access.

Part of the masterplan will also see great new facilities for young kids. After much community consultation and financial support, there will also be a new, revolutionary adventure playground which will feature sensory gardens, climbing trees, swings for the disabled, interactive play areas, spider nets and a bush exploration area to name just a few features.

The whole reserve will be a place Montrose families can enjoy and be proud of – and will also act as a significant driver of economic growth for the township.

In many ways, the need for these new plans and upgrade are illustrative of the changes that are happening in Montrose - the facilities that were originally built for a small rural township now need to evolve to cope with our population growth, changing demographics and different economic circumstances.

We now have more families living out here, more kids playing sport and a greater demand for community facilities – and as a government it is our role to provide the relevant infrastructure to accommodate this.

That’s why the Federal Government has taken a local consultative approach to work with local communities to work out what infrastructure is most necessary and important for them.

Our approach to regional development is to work in partnership with communities, government and the private sector to foster the development of self-reliant communities and regions.
It’s not much point having a bureaucrat in Canberra deciding what’s best for Montrose and that’s why the Regional Partnerships programme, just like the Investing in Our Schools programme, works directly with local communities to identify and support their ideas.
For this particular project, it was the Montrose community, the Shire of Yarra Ranges and the State Government who were all involved in the project – both identifying it as a priority and committing funds towards it.

And of course, these types of projects are simply not possible when you don’t have a strong economy, the money and the balanced budgets to be able to invest in local communities and relevant infrastructure.

I congratulate all involved in helping see this project come to fruition and I look forward to hearing about its construction and development. I also look forward to taking my own family there and hearing the stories of enjoyment of the playground and upgraded facilities for years to come.

Tony Smith MP