The state government will honour half of its election commitment to fix the worn-out grandstand at Maitland Showground this financial year.
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Before the March election, then minister for the Hunter Gladys Berejiklian promised $250,000 to fix the 100-year-old structure.
The grandstand has been in a state of disrepair for several years and there have been ongoing community efforts to raise money to restore it to its former glory.
But documents released during Ms Berejiklian’s first state budget as Treasurer last month did not appear to earmark the grandstand for this financial year.
It referred to the grandstand money in a list of election commitments that the government would deliver between 2015 and 2019.
However, Minister of Sports and Recreation Stuart Ayres confirmed that $125,000 had been budgeted for the project this financial year.
A spokeswoman for Mr Ayres said that the funding had been earmarked, despite the fact that it did not appear in the budget papers as a specific infrastructure project for 2015/16.
She said another $125,000, the second half of the election promise, had been earmarked for the grandstand in the 2016/17 financial year.
The government funding will trigger a donation pledged by an anonymous benefactor, who promised the Hunter River Agricultural and Horticultural Society $200,000 if the remaining money was raised to complete the refurbishment of the grandstand.
Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison said she was pleased to hear that the funding would be delivered, partially, this financial year.
“My biggest concern is to ensure that the Hunter River Agricultural and Horticultural Society has a lot of support behind it from the community,” she said.
“So I am urging people to join that association because we will need project development people and we’ll need marketing people to really kick that along.
“This opportunity is really too good to throw away.”
Several other election commitments were not noted in the recent budget, but were included in the government’s official to-do list before the 2019 election.
These include $3.8 million for a new ambulance station in the Maitland area, $5 million to enhance services at Kurri Kurri Hospital and increase bed numbers at Maitland Hospital and an expanded and refurbished sports and youth hub at Maitland PCYC.
It has not been confirmed when funding for these projects will be delivered.
