Elsie Lange
Sunbury resident Mel O’Neill is leading the fight to give more children access to swimming lessons at the local, council-run aquatic centre, but fears her work may be futile.
In April, it was revealed swimming lesson wait times in the municipality were soaring, following questions from Ms O’Neill to Hume council.
Back then, if a child aged up to three years old was put on the waitlist at the Sunbury Aquatic and Leisure Centre, they’d be 114th in line.
A general business item was then raised requesting officers report back about what could be done to fastrack a waitlist reduction.
When Ms O’Neill heard the report was complete, she requested visibility – but said she was denied.
She said she was told while there were some changes that could be made to other aquatic centres Hume to accommodate the wait lists, “not much could be done” for Sunbury.
“I felt a bit deflated. I felt a little bit left out,” she said.
Since Star Weekly first reported on the wait lists, they grew by about 2000 children across the municipality, however wait times have not increased.
Hume mayor Carly Moore said council was doing everything possible to reduce waiting periods, including having hired more than 50 new swimming teachers, and launched the trainee program to allow centres to take on an additional 600 students.
“We are also running off-site safety sessions in local schools to provide water safety and education for students currently on our waiting lists,” she said.
Council is investigating the installation of a removable platform floor into the Olympic swimming pool at Splash Aqua Park and Leisure Centre in Craigieburn. If adopted, it could accommodate 1300 more children in its swimming programs.
While Ms O’Neill is aware there may be no easy solution in Sunbury, she thinks the issue still needs to be addressed fast.
“My 10-month-old is on the waitlist and has been since he was born,” Ms O’Neill said.
“Sunbury is surrounded by water, I know we’re not near the beach, but we have creeks everywhere.
“It’s so very important, we’ve got Spavin Lake, we’ve got Jacksons Creek, we’ve got the Nook.
“I do have two young children that like to explore and play… It’s important to educate them and make sure they can look after themselves.”
