MAYOR CONTINUES FIGHT FOR SPORTS HUB FUNDING 100 DAYS ON
Dubbo Regional Council Mayor Josh Black is continuing the fight for funding for the Dubbo Indoor Sports Hub, 100 days since it was removed by Minister Tara Moriarty.
Clr Black has use the anniversary to renew his call for the NSW Government to restore the funding to the project via the upcoming State Budget.
“This is a regionally significant project with great sporting and social outcomes for a wide area of NSW, yet funding was pulled without the Minister even visiting to speak directly with local stakeholders. I have been fighting for the funding to be re-instated for the past 100 days, and I won’t stop until it is.
“Without this centre being built, the youth of Dubbo and Western NSW are continuing to miss out on the opportunities those to the east of us have," Clr Black said.
With the State Government’s focus on crime in the regions, Clr Black said it was impossible to understand why they had removed funding that would help assist in getting youth off the streets.
“The Sports Hub and PCYC will allow delivery of a whole range of youth engagement programs. It’s the exact thing that residents living in Western NSW have been crying out for to break the cycle of youth offending, and the exact thing the Government have been saying needs to happen. Yet when a suitable site for the project was presented to her, Minister Moriarty ripped the funding away, even though it could be built within the current allocation of money.”
“The people across the whole Western Region have been crying out for this Sports Hub so that their kids can participate in competitive sport, and that is why so many mayors have also called on Premier Chris Minns to reinstate the project funding,” Clr Black said.
The facility was originally proposed to be built at the CSU University campus in Dubbo, however the tender substantially exceeded the allocated budget. After being told by Minister Moriarty's own department to find an alternative site, PCYC NSW lead a proactive approach in putting forward a formal variation to see the development happen at Dubbo SportsWorld, only to then have the money withdrawn after the change of site was applied for.
Documents from the Department of Regional NSW office, released under a FOI request to Council, show the Office of Sport, and the Grant Management Office, both supported the variation in location for the facility. However, the funding was removed on 18 December 2024 by Minister Tara Moriarty.
The NSW State Government will deliver the 2025/2026 Budget in late June this year.
Last Edited: 27 Mar 2025