Minister approves $5 million funding for Sport UNE

February 26, 2007

The Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training, Julie Bishop, has approved funding of $5 million for the construction and upgrading of sports facilities at the University of New England. The money will come from the Government's Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) Transition Fund.

Minister Bishop officially informed UNE's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Pettigrew, about the grant late last week. Professor Pettigrew said he was delighted by the news. "It's a very positive response from the Government to the impact of VSU on UNE," he said.

The Government set up the VSU Transition Fund to help universities cope with the change from compulsory to voluntary student unionism that came into effect in the middle of last year. The $5 million grant, from the VSU Transition Fund for Sporting and Recreational Facilities, will be used to assist Sport UNE build a new, multi-purpose facility, buy new gymnasium equipment, and upgrade the swimming pool. (Sport UNE is pictured here.)

The new facility will house Sport UNE's third indoor court (for a variety of sports, including basketball, netball and volleyball), and a new weight-training gym.

In the same letter, the Minister informed Professor Pettigrew that she had also approved funding to UNE of up to $491,000 over three years under the VSU Transition Fund for Small Businesses on Regional University Campuses. This money will help create opportunities for small businesses to provide on-campus services for students, staff, and the wider community.

Professor Pettigrew said that the wide range of facilities provided by Sport UNE was "a vital part of students' life on campus, and an important resource for the Armidale and New England communities".

"The funding will enable us to ensure that Sport UNE and other businesses on campus continue to serve the University and the community," he said. "This will help to attract students to UNE, and could also attract other community activities onto the campus."

"This is a payment from the Government's one-off VSU Transition Fund," he concluded. "We'll make very good use of it for the longer term."

Posted by Jim Scanlan at February 26, 2007 04:02 PM