Ainslie Park Cricket Club, based at Ainslie Park in Brentnall Road in Croydon is part of the Ringwood District Cricket Association and has six senior teams, two veteran teams and several junior teams. This evening I attended the Club’s Thursday night dinner to speak to members and the committee.
Ainslie Park Cricket Club is working on expanding its facilities and has been speaking with other clubs, including the Ringwood East Football Club, to provide capacity for other sporting clubs. It is great to see Ainslie Park Cricket Club working with other sporting clubs to expand the ability to offer sporting opportunities within the community.
Ringwood Station fails to meet disability compliance standards and is perceived to be unsafe due to the poor station design, including narrow and steep ramps. The community has continually called for the full redevelopment of Ringwood Station into a safe, accessible and integrated interchange that will meet the needs of Ringwood as a vibrant urban centre.
While public transport is a State Government responsibility, Council must advocate on behalf of its community and it is clear that Maroondah is seeking a commitment for the redevelopment of Ringwood Station.
Council has been circulating a petition for the past month which has now attracted over 2000 signatures with approximately 1000 visitations through social media tools, including Facebook and Youtube. This evening Council officially launched the Missing Piece campaign with a direct call to action for all political parities to commit to the station upgrade.
Alex with Margaret launching Maroondah's Missing Piece campaign calling for the upgrade of Ringwood Station into an accessible, safe and integrated transport interchange
Ringwood Station is the Missing Piece in a vision for Ringwood, since a lack of commitment diminishes the residential, commercial and community investment that is taking place. Margaret Stevens, a renowned accessibility advocate who spent a week at Eastland collecting signatures for the petition, joined me in launching the campaign and calling on all political parties to commit to Ringwood’s future.
Council’s video highlighting the condition of Ringwood Station was displayed throughout the launch reinforcing the accessibility difficulties that exist.
The speech provided during the launch is available within this post:
In the spirit of Reconciliation, we acknowledge that we are meeting on land for which the Wurundjeri people have been custodians for many centuries, and on land which the Indigenous Australians have performed age old ceremonies.
We, Maroondah City Council, accept, respect and have shared with the Wurundjeri people in their customs of welcome.
The Wurundjeri people support the coming together of all people, respecting their individuality to focus on a unified and cohesive nation.
As you have gathered here this evening, you will have seen the video playing overhead showing the difficulty people in our community, and particularly those with a disability, have accessing Ringwood Station and the 50 year old ramps leading to the station platforms.
This video has been an important element of an advocacy campaign Council has been running over the past six weeks.
The campaign is seeking a funding commitment from all state political parties in the lead up to the State election for the upgrade of Ringwood Station within the next term of government.
The campaign has been running for six weeks with significant support and media coverage from Maroondah’s two local papers, editorial has appeared each week for the past 6 weeks.
Community support has been extremely strong, and to date we have over 2000 signatures to the petition, from individuals and community groups.
One of these individuals is here with us tonight, and I would like to acknowledge Margaret Stevens for her dedication to the cause in securing over 600 signatures from the Maroondah community and beyond during a week at Eastland. In addition, several members of the community, including Dawn Oliffe spent time at Ringwood Station securing signatures for the petition.
Margaret is one of many voices demanding action for Ringwood Station. I have spoken with many people during the course of this campaign and the message from the community is clear, Maroondah residents are tired of waiting, they want a safe, integrated, accessible and vibrant Ringwood Station, and they want it in the term of the next government.
Tonight, Council is launching “The Missing Piece – Ringwood Station” in the lead up to this evening’s Eastern Transport Coalition Forum.
Alex with Margaret launching Maroondah's Missing Piece campaign calling for the upgrade of Ringwood Station into an accessible, safe and integrated transport interchange.
Significant investment and development continues in Ringwood, with support from the State Government and private enterprise, however the commitment to fund the redevelopment of Ringwood Station remains the missing piece of the vision for the Ringwood Central Activities District.
As you can see within the Ringwood Central Activities District jigsaw, we have EastLink providing an important road transport corridor from Mitcham to Frankston, an area responsible for 40 percent of Victoria’s manufacturing output and over 1.3 million people living in the area and providing more than 350,000 jobs.
The sporting, recreational and leisure facilities that either currently exist (Maroondah Federation Estate/Maroondah Art Gallery, tennis, croquet, football and cricket), are under construction (Soccer), or awaiting funding (proposed Maroondah Aquatic and Leisure) in the Jubilee Park precinct are within walking distance from Ringwood Station and the Central Activities District.
New businesses and services are moving to Ringwood, bringing increased employment and spending, as evidenced by the Connect East building perched over EastLink.
Ringwood Lake Park is an icon of Ringwood, providing enormous leisure and recreational pleasure all year round for people of all ages and abilities.
The $39million bus interchange is poised to change the face of Maroondah Highway, however, it does not provide an interface with the existing Ringwood Station.
Residential housing development is showing consistent growth within the Central Activities District with private building developers showing their support for the vision of Ringwood. The new 10 story co-operative housing development will soon be home to over 100 people early next year.
Eastland and the Ringwood Market site are expected to see construction and expansion of retail, community and business floorspace, changing the face of Ringwood significantly.
The Lake to Creek project will see pedestrian and cycling links between the Mullum Mullum Creek and Ringwood Lake, adding another vital layer to the accessibility of our city.
It is time to add the missing piece to the Ringwood Central Activities District jigsaw, a new Ringwood Station.
It is time for each state political party to not only acknowledge the need for an upgrade to Ringwood Station, but to actually stand up and commit to fund this important piece of public transport infrastructure that remains the missing piece of the vision for the State Government’s own Ringwood Central Activities District.
Maroondah Business Week is an annual Council initiated program that aims to promote and enhance businesses within the municipality. The Week consists of workshops, tours and networking events offering a range of activities to cater to the business sectors within Maroondah.
One of these events is the Maroondah Business Week Breakfast, which featured David Schwarz as the speaker. David was a former footballer and Vice-Captain for Melbourne Football Club and discussed the challenges he faced during this career, including a gambling addiction, which he spoke about candidly during the breakfast session.
Alex with David Schwarz and Cr Rob Steane at the 2010 Maroondah Business Week Breakfast
David’s openness set him apart from some of the speakers of other years and he spoke candidly about the difficulties in establishing a post football career. David’s comments reflect the need for ongoing perseverance and the advantages of networking within businesses and provided a number of parallels between his experiences and the challenges facing business.
As part of the proceedings I had the opportunity to introduce Maroondah Business Week and the speech I provided is available in this post:
On the 3rd of September I had the pleasure of attending the Ringwood Spiders Trophy Presentation Evening, a football team for people with disabilities, which competes in the Football Integration Development Association (FIDA) league comprising of teams across Victoria.
The Trophy Presentation Evening provides an opportunity to reflect on the Spiders achievements throughout the year, including the formation of a second team and the continuation of their Junior Development Squad, which has seen new members over the past season. In addition, the Ringwood Spiders Cheerleader Squad continues to provide an opportunity for people unable to play football to still support and be a part of the team.
The Ringwood Spiders are eagerly awaiting the 2011 Football Season but have a range of activities planned over the summer months, including lawn bowls organised in partnership with the Ringwood Bowls Club. The Ringwood Bowls Club is one of the many organisations that have formed partnerships with the Ringwood Spiders and it was great to see the Trophy Presentation Evening held once again at the Bowls Club.
On the 9th of September I attended the Spring Formal of the Croydon Special Development School. The school specialises in education for people with disabilities while providing connections with the wider community. The Spring Formal demonstrated the strength of the school’s connections to the wider community, with several students from local high schools being partners to participants in the formal.
It was fantastic to see students from local high schools supporting students from the Croydon Special Development School and I commend each of them for their involvement in the Spring Formal.
On the 15th of September I attended the Eastern Volunteer Business Booster Breakfast, a new initiative of Eastern Volunteers designed to create mutually beneficial partnerships between the business and community sectors. The breakfast included the launch of Friends of EV, a new program which will create partnerships between Eastern Volunteers and the business community. It is worth noting that Eastern Volunteers is a stable organisation that has existed for 30 years, demonstrating its commitment to sustainable and positive outcomes for the community.
Lastly, on the 20th of September I participated in the filming of Monkami’s Drama Group, “Hey Hey It’s Monkami”, the fourth production from the Group. Hey Hey It’s Monkami, is the fourth performance of the group and will be performed on Thursday the 28th of September at the Karralyka Centre.
The Eastern Football League covers Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, includes 43 teams, of which 12 are in division one, stretching from Balwyn through to Noble Park in the south.
This afternoon I attended the EFL’s Division One Grand Final against Noble and Scoresby at Bayswater Oval in Knox. The game attracted close to 10,000 spectators and was the first time since 1987 that Vermont were not in the finals. While Scoresby had an early lead, Noble Park eventually secured victory with a lead of 42 points.
The Eastern Football League has a formed a number of community partnerships, including support for Blue Ribbon Day to recognise Police Officers killed in the line of duty. The EFL contributed financially to Blue Ribbon Day and it is fantastic to see the League supporting such a worthwhile cause.
The Footmen Club is a service based club supported through the local Maroondah business community, which provides assistance to individuals and groups throughout the municipality.
This afternoon the Footmen Club held a Foot Luncheon, featuring AFL Victoria CEO and former Hawthorn Player, Peter Schwab. Peter spoke about his football career and his experiences as CEO of AFL Victoria. Peter discussed the challenges that were facing Hawthorn at the time and how his abilities in football complemented the team.
The Footmen Club holds regular luncheons through the year featuring a variety of guest speakers while also helping people in need. For further information please visit www.footmen.org.au
The Ringwood Spiders is a football club for people with disabilities, competing within the Football Integration Development Association (FIDA) League.
The Ringwood Spiders has seen on-going success, including the formation of a second team and the continuation of its cheer squad and junior development squad. This evening I attended the Ringwood Spiders Trophy Presentation Evening, which was held at the Ringwood Bowls Club.
Alex with Josh and Adam from the Ringwood Spiders
The Ringwood Spiders trophy presentation evening provides an opportunity to reflect on the past season and recognise the accomplishments of players. It is encouraging that there is ongoing support for the Ringwood Spiders from organisations like the Ringwood Redbacks, the Ringwood Bowls Club and businesses like Lakeside Cafe in Ringwood.
While the football season may be drawing to a close the Spiders will be undertaking a Summer events program, including lawn bowls at the Ringwood Bowls Club and a range of other activities.
Norwood Football CLub, based at Mullum Reserve in Ringwood, is a division one football club and one of the largest within the Eastern Football League.
This afternoon I attended the presidents luncheon, where the club thanks its supporters, committee and past players for their dedication to the club. While Norwood had a mixed start to the season, it is now competing strongly and this is reinforced through its strong committee of management and vision for the future.
Norwood Football Club has a unique location, being located at the edge of the Mullum Creek Trail and it is great to see the club appreciate the efforts of the bushcare group that preserves the unique biodiversity of the trail. I wish Norwood the best of luck as it approaches the 2010 EFL Finals.
The Ringwood Spiders is a football team for people with disabilities and works alongside the Ringwood Redbacks who share the facilities at Jubilee Park in Ringwood.
Due to a rescheduling of grounds the games schedule was modified and this morning the Ringwood Spiders returned to Jubilee Park to play their final home game for 2010. The Ringwood Spiders has grown and developed throughout the year and it is great to see the ongoing cooperation between the Spiders and the Redbacks, as well as the wider community.
The Ringwood Spiders is a football team for people with disabilities and competes within the Football Integrated Development Association (FIDA), where they are fielding two teams for this season.
This morning I attended the Ringwood Spider’s Home Game at Jubilee Park where they competed against Mazenod for the Christian Ampt Memorial Trophy, in recognition of a former player of the Spiders who battled depression. The trophy will be played for each year in honour of Christian who had some of his best games against Mazenod. The match coincided with the Spiders Sponsors Day and provided an opportunity for sponsors to see how their support of the Spiders assists the Club and its members.
They gave their all in the second half and kicked away to a four goal buffer. But Mazenod were not done and two late goals tightened things up. It was a jubilant Spiders though that held on and ran out winning by 13 points.
The Ringwood Spiders has a strong community focus and prides itself on community inclusion. Initiatives such as the junior development squad and cheer squad continue to grow and enable people of all abilities to become involved within the Club and to be a part of the Ringwood Spiders.
While the match was the Spiders last home game for the season there are additional games throughout the season. For furhter information on the Ringwood Spiders please visit www.ringwoodspiders.com.
