Speech given by Councillor Seal Chong Wah, to the full Brisbane City Council Council Meeting, Tues 27th May 2025.

I am speaking to the E & C report, Clause A, lease and operation of the Roy Emerson Tennis Centre.

This Tennis Centre and Frew Park are in my Paddington Ward. I have met with the owner and manager team of the Tennis Centre and I know they will be extremely happy with the result to renew their lease.

The Roy Emerson Tennis Centre was opened in 2014 as part of the establishment of Frew Park, after a significant community-led campaign. Both the Park and the tennis centre were built on the site of the old Milton tennis Centre. The iconic Milton Tennis Centre originally opened in 1915, with seating for 7,000 people. It had 19 hard courts and four grass courts and hosted eight Australian championships and 16 Davis Cup ties.

I am absolutely committed to this long tradition of tennis courts in our much beloved Frew Park.mThere has also been a long standing tradition of tennis court facilities in Council parks, which I hope this council will continue.

It is however disappointing that so many important community owned facilities have been commercialised, so that they may be financially out of reach to many of our community members. Why do we have community facilities available on council public land that are as expensive or even more expensive than private commercial operations. The court fees at Roy Emmerson are $40 per hour in the evening, higher than many other tennis courts with lights. 

My position and Greens policy is that council-owned facilities should provide free-to-access recreational opportunities. At least one or two of these courts could be available free of charge, to local residents and children. I see young people and children, often two people forced to play on the Fay Muller Rebound Wall, because they can’t afford to hire a court.

I am voting in support of this lease, but we face a deeper systemic problem, where the LNP council are happy to commercialise as much of our council recreation facilities as possible, despite all of the residents of Brisbane city already actually paying for these courts.