By Fatima Halloum
A Liberal-National pledge to build an $11 million Indian Community Centre in the west has has drawn mixed reactions from Wyndham residents.
Last week, the Coalition said it would build the centre if it wins next month’s state election.
Liberal candidate for Tarneit Preet Singh said Tarneit is one of Melbourne’s fastest growing suburbs and had a rich Indian Australian population that would benefit from the centre.
“We believe that this funding will provide a much needed facility for our local Indian community,” Mr Singh told Star Weekly.
“It will be great to have the centre where it can serve majority population.”
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census data revealed the top ancestry in the municipality was Indian, accounting for 17.4 per cent of Wyndham’s population.
However, a Facebook post announcing the news drew mixed reactions from residents.
“A ’community’ centre should also, by definition, be for ALL the community, addressing demographics within its own program structure,” one resident wrote.
Another resident wrote: “Great news for the community in west and also a great news for Indian community in west! With buy-in from a major party, this will be great for multicultural community for its cultural needs. This will
also promote tourism and related tourist traffic.
“This will add to the infrastructure required and investment required to help local community and cultural events. Current community centres are used by Indian community but are getting too small for its diverse cultural needs.”
Mr Singh said for the most part, the community was “very appreciative” of the party’s support.
“The centre will be open to all, just like people of all faiths may visit the temples,” he said.
“We’re here to support all communities.”
In 2017, the Labor state government funded a feasibility study into a potential Indian Cultural Precinct in Wyndham and indicated that up to $500,000 would be made available to contribute to the development.
Star Weekly understands Wyndham council declined the funding in 2018.
Mr Singh said the government can always do more and announced the Liberal party would also allocate $100,000 towards reviving the Weerama Festival.
The festival’s committee cancelled the event in 2019, citing a lack of timely funding and time constraints.
The committee had planned to host a festival the following year, before COVID-19 halted community events in 2020.
