NEWS DESK
Mayor sleeps rough
YOUNG basketball players at Frankston Basketball Stadium. Picture: Supplied
Basketball association wins top award Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au OFF the back of securing federal funding for a major redevelopment for its stadium, the Frankston District Basketball Association has won Basketball Victoria’s association of the year award. The FDBA has successfully lobbied for funding for the Frankston Basketball Stadium. Frankston Council will contribute $15 million to the project. The newly elected Labor federal government has also committed $15 million. The FDBA’s good year continued this month when they took out the major award. FDBA CEO Wayne Holdsworth said the organisation was “so pleased to be the recipient of this award.” “I would like to personally thank all the vol-
unteers at clubland, all our referees, our referee advisors and supervisors, all of those volunteers that help the Blues, all our coaches and team managers, our really hard-working board led by Tim Bower our president,” he said “I’d like to particularly, thank Nick Honey from Basketball Victoria. He had done an enormous amount of work to support our Association and encourage us. As has Mike Bainbridge. Thank you both.” In 2018, a planned upgrade to Frankston Basketball Stadium was abandoned and ratepayer funding for the project was diverted elsewhere after former Dunkley MP Chris Crewther made a series of claims under parliamentary privilege about alleged misconduct within the FDBA. An independent investigation into the allegations was undertaken and the findings were reported to Basketball Victoria, which later said it was “happy” with the subsequent changes and new
appointments made within the FDBA (“State’s basketball board satisfied with FDBA reform” The Times 8/7/2019). Frankston mayor Nathan Conroy said the award was deserved after a challenging period of the basketball body. “The FDBA have built their way back up in true Frankston fashion from almost last on the ladder three years ago to the top spot. This just goes to show the tenacity and tireless hard work that’s gone into turning the fortunes of the association around. Under the sound stewardship of Wayne and the board, the association has continued to grow their membership despite the COVID-19 pandemic and has bounced back bigger and better than ever,” he said. “If you want a prime example of the turnaround story of Frankston, you couldn’t find a better example than the Frankston and District Basketball Association.”
Events commemorate Reconciliation Week MUSICIAN Kutcha Edwards headlines the events scheduled for Reconciliation Week this week. Edwards will perform at Frankston Arts Centre on 1 June. His show explores themes of country, birth, youth, politics, love, culture, healing, and hope. Reconciliation Week runs from 27 May to 3 June. Local Indigenous group Nairm Marr Djambana will host the Bay Mob Expo on 2 June, which will feature a bush tucker walk, meditation, hip hop crew, and activities for children. The event will run from 11am to 4pm. Nairm Marr Djambana executive board member Kerry Strickland said “Nairm Marr Djambana would like to invite the Frankston community to our reconciliation events. This year’s theme, Be Brave. Make Change, is a challenge to all Australians, individuals, families, communities, organisations, and government to tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation.”
FRANKSTON mayor Nathan Conroy has taken part in a challenge to raise awareness about homelessess, going without a bed for a night and living on $10 for the day. Conroy said he took part in the “Roughin It Challenge” to encourage people to address the challenges of rough sleeping. “Homelessness is fundamentally a national human rights issue that not only needs to be spoken about, but addressed,” he said. “Behind the alarming homelessness statistics are real people facing hardship. It’s also not solely about inadequate access to a safe and secure house – there are other impacts such as disconnection from family, friends and community. No one deserves that.” Last year council launched the Frankston Zero initiative, which has seen 14 local organisations work together to come up with solutions to homelessness. As of March this year, workers taking part in the initiative have rehomed 10 local people. “Frankston Zero involves a hyper local approach to ending homelessness that puts each individual at the centre of the service system. This approach involves the creation of a byname list of each person who is sleeping rough in the local community and maintaining quality data to measure progress,” Conroy said. “Council, Launch Housing and the local service system come together regularly as a multi-agency team, putting each person on the by-name list at the centre of the system, sharing resources and relationships to find tailored housing and support solutions for each person.” Launch Housing chief executive Bevan Warner said that events like the Roughin’ It Challenge “provide the opportunity to show solidarity with those in our community who are without a safe place to call home.” “We need to challenge the misconception that homelessness is unavoidable. It just isn’t the case. Let’s use the Roughin’ It Challenge as an opportunity to ignite conversations around the kitchen table, at barbeques and in workplaces about how we can make Melbourne, and Australia as a whole, more liveable and affordable for everyone,” he said. FRANKSTON mayor Nathan Conroy. Picture: Supplied
KUTCHA Edwards will perform at Frankston Arts Centre this week. Picture: Supplied
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Frankston Times
31 May 2022
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