GREATER Shepparton City Council intends to seek community feedback regarding its intention to enter into a lease agreement in relation to the new Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence (MCRE).
The MCRE will be a nationally significant cultural hub that brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous people around Australia. Munarra will embed Aboriginal culture across all curriculum and programs, positioning Aboriginal knowledge transfer and cultural exchange as a national asset.
It is intended that the MCRE complex will be run by Munarra Limited, a not-for-profit entity that is a partnership of Rumbalara Football and Netball Club (RFNC), the University of Melbourne, and Kaelia Institute. The centre will establish best practice in health, sport, education, and arts integrated with Aboriginal Australian cultural knowledge, teaching, and learning practice.
In 2016, Council agreed to provide in-principal commitments, including provisions of the land to the west of Shepparton Sports Stadium, in-kind support to assist with the project, like planning and development requirements, and supporting funding submissions by RFNC to further the project.
Last year, Council prepared designs for utilities and services infrastructure, including the construction of stormwater drainage. The studies identified infrastructure required to support the expansion of the Sports Stadium. The Victorian Government contributed 50 percent of the funding for this work, with the construction tender awarded at the December Council Meeting.
Mayor, Cr Kim O’Keeffe said the MCRE will be a significant education facility that will provide state-of-the-art facilities to Indigenous and non-indigenous people across the country.
“After an extensive period of planning and infrastructure investigation, the contracts for the construction of the stormwater drainage infrastructure was awarded at the December Council Meeting and construction is expected to commence in early 2022,” she said. “This will provide stormwater drainage infrastructure for the area known as the proposed Munarra precinct and support the future expansion of the Sports Stadium.”
Council will undertake community consultation in early 2022 to understand what residents and businesses in the area feel about the lease of the land.
