All non-for-profit and charity community groups want is a fair go.
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Sporting clubs and hobby groups are a dying breed in regional Australia these days, especially those organisations with a small but loyal volunteer base keeping them alive.
Many would argue issues of red tape – insurance, regulations, fees – are stopping many smaller groups from forming let alone surviving and thriving.
However, there is still plenty of opportunity for those wanting to form some sort of club.
Councils and national bodies have restrictions and fees for a reason, part of which includes providing incentive when it comes to running a well-oiled machine.
Despite the challenges, two Griffith men are trying to provide Griffith with a new croquet club.
The response they received back from Griffith City Council was positive and was met without any objections to the proposal put forward.
The issue for getting the club off the ground, according to the two croquet advocates, would be the financial ask from Council.
To use the former bowling greens the club needs to pay $540 per annum for the licencing fee under council’s adopted Revenue Policy for 2016/17, as well as potentially a Property Lease Administration Fee of $388.
These restrictions and hoops to jump through form barriers needed for council to decipher what land, infrastructure and funding to allocate to who – a test to see who’s fair dinkum.
Luckily, while the groups find it far more difficult to stay alive today under the strain of red tape, the legal barriers aren’t enough to kill the traditional community group.
If there’s a will there’s a way – grants, help from state and national croquet bodies and other levels of government can help, but only on the back of a well-thought out proposal.
An inciting call to arms is the first step towards building foundations for any club.
A community group’s success will ultimately be determined by its demand among residents, and sustained success relies heavily on the body’s ability to be engaging and forward thinking.
That’s the type of thinking seeing red tape as a challenge, rather than a deal breaker, and the type of thinking councils want to support.
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