BUDGET RESPONSE
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JOHNSON RESERVE FACILITIES
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In line with the club’s strategic goals, the Swifts Committee is advocating for upgraded facilities at Johnson Reserve. This investment will create a safe and welcoming space that fosters female participation in sports.

In March 2020 council conducted a range of community engagement activities for the West Footscray Community Facilities Plan. It encompassed RecWest Footscray, Shorten Reserve, Barrett Reserve, and Johnson Reserve.

Council is proposing $4.957M for the Shorten Reserve / RecWest upgrade within its 24/25 budget.

The proposal diverts from the original West Footscray Community Facilities Plan and omits substantial funding away from Johnson Reserve. Disappointingly the 24/25 budget only mildly references an investment ($80k) for Johnson Reserve development.

To ensure that development of infrastructure at Johnson Reserve is not omitted from future budgets we are asking our members and community to provide feedback to council on the Proposed Budget 2024/25 before midnight Wednesday 15 May 2024. Proposed Budget Feedback Form | Annual Budget 2024/25 | Your City Your Voice

We have provided a template below, but you are welcome to use your own words.

Thanks for your support.

My name is xxx and I play / my daughter plays in x team. Describe your connection to the Swifts, how long you have been a part of the Swifts and what it means to you / why you love the Swifts.

My feedback is on behalf of the Maribyrnong Swifts Football club and community and friends who use Johnson Reserve daily. We are located in Stony Creek Ward and our community consists of 18,974 registered voters which is approximately 30% of Maribyrnong registered voters (VEC 2020 electoral results) and is the second largest of the 3 wards

Disappointingly the 24/25 budget only mildly references an investment for Johnson Reserve and fails to address its failing condition.

The budget instead:

- Omits Johnson Reserve entirely from the West Footscray Community Facilities Plan by excluding it from $4.96 million allocated for the Shorten Reserve/RecWest

- Fails to be inclusive by not recognising that the budget is in part a “Gender Equality Budget” which includes “$4,401,030 for new projects and upgrades to address barriers to participation in sport for women and girls” (p24 Proposed_Budget_2024-25_Companion_Document.PDF) 

The 24/25 budget does not support:

- A new pavilion with improved and purpose-built facilities to support female participating in sports at Johnson Reserve. This pavilion would also provide important community facilities which are lacking in this area of Stony Creek Ward.

- Is inconsistent with ward spend that was meant to reflect “an allocation that is equitable, not necessarily equal”. (Capital Works Proposed budget breakdown PDF). 

There is a real risk that by invoking the 2020 masterplan without Johnson Reserve, we lose the momentum which was drawn from the community consultations to improve our facilities and make improvements to Johnson Reserve a smaller piece of a bigger puzzle.

The proposed $80,000 investment into the Johnson Reserve Pavilion detail design is welcome but falls well short of what we so desperately need, especially in lieu of plans which have existed since 2020. 

To read that council has reduced its investment into Johnson Reserve for the foreseeable future, is a disappointing outcome for all the families and young girls with not only Matilda aspirations but more importantly those that seek a safe place to play and depend on adequate facilities for not only training but social events, social cohesion and retention of talent. Being a grassroots, female only club that relies mostly on donations, some sponsorship and charity events, our club and Johnson Reserve will continue to lag behind other reserves which have had significant investment in past years.

I am hoping that the pavilion can be prioritised in the budget so that my family / my team / my community can use the purpose-built female football facility in the very near future, and that the Swifts can continue to provide a safe and inclusive space where women, girls and gender-diverse people from all walks of life can stay active and healthy through sport.