A Shorten Labor Government will commit $10 million to build a Rural Aquatic Centre at Litchfield.

This project has been a long term vision shared by the Litchfield Council and Labor. The Aquatic Centre will offer the local community a place to learn to swim, understand water safety and recreation.

The Litchfield area has a growing population of approximately 25,500 and currently has no public pool facility.

This is an exciting development for the residents of Litchfield and the surrounding regions. It can be expensive and time consuming for rural residents to access swimming lessons in Palmerston or Darwin, so a rural aquatic facility will make a big difference for families.

In January this year Federal Labor announced plans for a new national SwimSmart program that will ensure Australian children will grow up with the necessary water safety skills to keep them safe.

From 2020, this will mean more swimming lessons for primary school students, catch-up lessons for those that need it and more help with the cost of transport and pool entry fees.

Royal Life Saving NT figures show that the Northern Territory still has the highest rate of drowning per capita in Australia. Building this aquatic centre will give more Territorians living in the Litchfield area the opportunity to learn to swim.

Its a disgrace the CLP and Morrison Government have continued to ignore the repeated requests from the community for a rural aquatic centre.