WAUCHOPE BONNY HILLS SLSC RECEIVES SUPPORT

Federal Member for Lyne Dr David Gillespie today congratulated Wauchope Bonny Hills SLSC on securing $3,500 in Federal funding towards new equipment for the club.

Dr Gillespie said the funding had been made available under the 8th round of the Australian Government’s Stronger Communities program which provides $150,000 in assistance towards local community projects in each electorate across Australia.

“The surf club will purchase two HP Notebooks and one "all-in-one" PC to connect to digital training PC mannequins and a digital whiteboard for training purposes,” Dr Gillespie said.

“As more and more courses transition online, this equipment will be an extremely beneficial resource for club members undertaking CPR and First Aid training.

“The work of our surf lifesaving volunteers cannot be overstated. Each year, they save countless lives from the water, so I’m delighted to be able to extend some financial assistance”, Dr Gillespie added.

Dr Gillespie said this round of funding was designed to support volunteer and community groups which weren’t able to fundraise or haven’t the means to provide matching funding.

“This program has always been very popular since its inception under the former Abbott Government. In this latest round, more than 80 organisations across the Lyne electorate applied for more than $1.5-million towards over $2-million in local community projects.

This program allows groups to apply for grants of between $2,500 and $20,000 without matching funding and up to 20 groups will be awarded funding per electorate. Local governing bodies and organisations that fall under them are only eligible to apply for up to 50 percent of the project costs and provide matching funding.

Dr Gillespie said he had written to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development & Local Government, Catherine King, and the Shadow Minister, Bridget McKenzie, suggesting the program be continued and expanded.

“This is an important program for many local community organisations, particularly in regional and rural areas where we could have easily invested ten times the funding we were allocated locally towards community projects,” Dr Gillespie said.