REGIONAL SPORT CLUBS IN NEED OF MORE HELP: MP

A NEW State Government sports grants program needs to be expanded to support struggling regional clubs, Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto says.

The $15.5 million COVID-19 Active Restart Infrastructure Recovery Fund provides grants of up to $20,000 to help clubs after COVID-19’S impact on their seasons.

The program will support up to 3000 not-for-profit sport and recreation clubs and organisations but funding will be split 50:50 between regional and southeast Queensland.

Clubs throughout North Queensland have been left reeling from the restrictions.

In Hinchinbrook, the district’s senior premier sports team, the Herbert River Crushers Rugby League Club, has been forced to abandon the season because playing is not economically viable.

Mr Dametto, who previously called for a specific support package targeting regional sporting clubs, said the government’s program did not go far enough in acknowledging the hardships clubs in the regions faced.

“It’s a David v Goliath battle when you talk about the few resources regional clubs have compared to their counterparts in the southeast,” he said.

“So it doesn’t really make sense to me that the government would split their program funding 50:50 when regional clubs already have the disadvantage of higher running costs and a much smaller revenue base to rely on.”

Mr Dametto called on State Sport Minister Mick de Brenni to boost the $15.5 million program and reconsider the funding split so regional clubs “had a fighting chance to see them through these financially difficult times”.

“I welcome the initiative shown by the government here but they need to go much further in acknowledging the disparity,” he said.

Sport Minister Mick de Brenni said the Palaszczuk government was investing $51.3 million into the safe return of club sport in Queensland.

“We want to ensure that the clubs that need the most support – wherever they are from in Queensland – get the support they need to get back on their feet,” Mr de Brenni said.