PLANNING Minister Matthew Guy has watered down his pledge that money raised from the sale of land for two new Wyndham suburbs won’t leave the area.
Instead, the “vast majority” of revenue will bankroll infrastructure needed to cater for 9000 houses and 50,000 jobs slated for the site between Werribee and Point Cook.
Speaking at the launch of plans to create a “new CBD” for Melbourne’s west on November 19, Mr Guy said all revenue raised by land sales in the 770-hectare site would be reinvested in the area.
“The money that is made from this site doesn’t leave the west, and more importantly, it doesn’t leave the City of Wyndham, and even more importantly, it doesn’t leave this precinct,” he said.
Mr Guy has since told the Weekly that the “vast majority of proceeds of land sales will be pumped back into the precinct”.
Land sales are expected to generate more than $700 million, but Mr Guy did not say how much would be funnelled elsewhere.
The change of tune has drawn fire from the opposition and regional lobby groups, who say Wyndham will be “short-changed” if all proceeds aren’t reinvested.
LeadWest chief executive Anton Mayer said Wyndham was already suffering from years of under-investment in critical infrastructure like roads and public transport.
“We would certainly be disappointed if the money from those land sales would somehow find itself going into Fishermans Bend, for instance. If there is money unlocked from the sale of residential lots, the community would expect the proceeds would be reinvested in enabling infrastructure for where the people are going to live, and to alleviate where there’s pressure already.”
Tarneit Labor MP Tim Pallas feared some of the revenue raised from the sale of land would go into consolidated revenue. “We’re given the promise of a half-diamond interchange to accommodate the houses, but all we’ve seen is $500,000 for planning committed.”
Wyndham mayor Heather Marcus was unfazed by the government diluting its initial promise, saying that for a state government to commit the vast majority of revenue from land sales back into the area was “unprecedented”.
Mr Guy said land sales would finance school facilities, roads, bike tracks, park networks, a water treatment facility and feature lake. Land sales would also help pay for a $40 million Sneydes Road interchange, which he expects will begin next year.
