Last week, Labor announced a substantial commitment to the Mackay Hockey Association, pledging $1.5 Million to improve the region’s indoor sporting facilities.
This announcement nearly doubles the previous promise made by the LNP and is aimed at enhancing infrastructure and supporting the development of Mackay’s grassroots athletes, with a particular focus on fostering Olympian talent.
The fund has now been fully secured and is said to be a landmark investment in the region’s sporting future.
Labor Candidate for Mackay, Belinda Hassan, expressed her enthusiasm for the funding and its potential impact on the local sporting community.
“We're very proud to announce that $1.5 million will go to this project,” Hassan said.
“I know the importance of this facility, and it is going to be a high-performance centre and a centre of excellence for our young athletes coming up."
Reflecting on her own experience, Hassan shared, “I know myself, I played on these hockey fields when I was a kid, which was a really long time ago…but it's just fantastic to see the opportunities that are now available to youth in our region.”
Hassan also highlighted the broader context of the government’s investment in youth sport, noting, “We know that our government has provided the sporting vouchers for our youth, so $200 to allow our children to be able to play sport, and now they are going to have a fantastic facility to play their hockey games at.”
The Mackay region has already produced an impressive eight Olympians, a feat that Hassan attributes to the community’s strong sporting culture.
“We know our region bats well above its weight where sport is concerned, and this is just another demonstration of that, so I'm really, really pleased to be able to announce this.”
Coach and spokesperson from the Mackay Hockey Association, Melissa Sorensen, also welcomed the news, calling it “an amazing commitment from Labor.”
Sorensen explained the transformative impact the funding would have on the association’s facilities.
“What this allows us to do is put a second field in, so we'll have a drop-in floor with the extra money that we're going to use as our contribution, and that will be multi-sport” she said.
The investment is seen as a critical boost to the region’s junior development programs, particularly with the 2032 Brisbane Olympics on the horizon.
Sorensen emphasised the association’s ambitions to build on its impressive record of producing Olympians, adding, “Junior development is huge in our region, and heading to 2032, we want to grow on the eight Olympians that we’ve already put through.”
Labor Candidate for Mackay, Belinda Hassan met with Melissa Sorensen from the Mackay Hockey Association to announce the $1.5 Million project. Photo credit: Hannah McNamara
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