Wyndham looks set to remain mostly blue-collar after both the state government and opposition refused to commit to a move that would create hundreds of white-collar jobs in the area.
In an exclusive interview with Star Weekly, opposition leader Daniel Andrews said that if he was elected he would not move a government department to the East Werribee Employment Precinct, as Steve Bracks had done with the TAC in Geelong and Denis Napthine did with VicRoads in Ballarat.
“I know there are some people who would be very strongly supportive of that, but it does cost significant amounts,” Mr Andrews said.
“I would say to you that an ambulance, when you call for one, a hospital bed when you need one, getting the asbestos out of our schools, building up our health system – those sorts of things, plus public transport, are a bit more important to me.”
East Werribee has been touted as a possible site for the creation of more than 50,000 jobs.
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Advocacy groups have been calling for a government department to be moved to the area to kick-start the process.
But Mr Andrews said he would instead focus on the automotive industry. “The western suburbs have had a pretty tough time of recent years with Ford, Holden and especially Toyota going,” he said.
“There’s a big job of work for us to do to make sure that tens of thousands of local families have got a job in the auto supply chain. I don’t want to give up on auto and I don’t want to give up on blue-collar manufacturing jobs”.
Asked specifically if the Napthine government would commit to moving a government department to the western suburbs, Planning Minister Matthew Guy chose to avoid the question.
“The government has committed $66.5 million for a package of early works at East Werribee, which includes a full diamond interchange with the Princes Freeway, upgrades to Sneydes Road and key intersection upgrades along the Princes Highway,” Mr Guy said.
“The government will continue to reinvest proceeds from the development of the site into the early delivery of key infrastructure.”
Wyndham mayor Bob Fairclough said the comments were disappointing.
“We have and will continue to advocate for the move of government departments to the municipality,” he said. “Most of the successful outer suburban employment precincts in Australia have a significant government services presence, and we would like to see the same commitment.”
