Federal MP Kevin Hogan, Kyogle mayor Danielle Mulholland, Minister for Recovery and State MP Janelle Saffin, deputy mayor John Burley and councillor Tom Cooper officially open the Bonalbo tennis courts.
Susanna Freymark
The clay tennis courts at Bonalbo were severely damaged in the 2022 floods.
Now, the clay has been replaced with concrete that has an acrylic coating to improve flood resilience. The upgrade includes a new pickle ball court.
Piers have been installed at the site to reduce the risk of erosion from Peacock Creek.
On Australia Day, Kyogle mayor Danielle Mulholland, State MP Janelle Saffin, Federal MP Kevin Hogan, deputy mayor John Burley and councillor Tom Cooper cut the ribbon to officially open the courts for use.
John Tart at the opening of the courts.
The $300,000 funding for the courts was through the State Government’s Sports Priority Needs Program 2022, with Kyogle Council also contributing.
Ms Saffin said the upgrade was about more than just fixing fences and surfaces.
“By moving the courts nine metres north away from the creek and replacing clay with reinforced concrete and acrylic coating, we aren’t just rebuilding — we are building back better,” Ms Saffin said.
Ms Mulholland said a resident questioned the appropriateness of the council upgrading the Bonalbo tennis courts and why that money couldn’t be channelled to cleaning out drains or doing more roadworks.
It was a hot day but the courts are open.
Ms Mulholland posted a response to this on social media.
“The $300k came from the State Government’s Sports Priority Needs Program, which is a subset of the 2022 Community Local Infrastructure Recovery Package, which was designed to repair, rebuild and improve the resilience of sport and recreation facilities.”
The funding for the Bonalbo courts is referred to as ‘tied funding’, Ms Mulholland said.
That means it is ‘tied’ to a specific project with a specific purpose.
Local councils cannot spend ‘tied’ funding on other projects such as roads.
Photos: Contributed