A bold plan to drive investment and job creation across Melbourne’s west has been presented to both major parties in the lead-up to Saturday’s state election.
A business case, commissioned by the Committee for Wyndham and prepared by analysts MacroPlan Dimasi, includes a detailed pitch for $3 million in funding over three years for an Australian-first partnership agency between industry and government to focus on attracting major developer investment and stimulating job growth in the region.
The blueprint would see the Committee for Wyndham expand to advocate for investment and jobs across the western suburbs.
A report as part of the business case states that the most critical issue facing the western suburbs is responding to the rapid population growth that has “drastically exceeded” the current supply of jobs, services and supporting infrastructure.
It identifies three key priority areas requiring major investment in the region – health, education, and infrastructure and logistics.
“Melbourne’s west has historically been deprived of catalyst projects from which future development can be derived,” the report states.
“A failure to actively develop major projects, whether public or privately funded, has led to a stagnation in investment and a significant lack of jobs growth.
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“It is essential that co-ordinated initiatives for job creation and infrastructure develop to ensure that it [the western suburbs] is not simply a region of commuters and empty homes.”
The government’s own planning blueprint, Plan Melbourne, predicts Melbourne’s future population will be heavily concentrated in the west – spanning the municipalities of Wyndham, Moonee Valley, Maribyrnong, Hobsons Bay, Melton and Brimbank.
Committee for Wyndham chief executive Chris Potaris said the aim of the plan would be to actively engage and work as a conduit between business, investors and government to create opportunities across the west.
With the population of the western suburbs set to grow by 430,000 by 2031, Mr Potaris said this would require the creation of another 125,000 jobs in the region.
“At the moment, in Wyndham, we’re the poor cousin because we can’t access regional funding from bodies such as Regional Development Australia, and we don’t receive the same high-level financial support from big business as inner metropolitan areas do,” he said.
Tarneit MP Tim Pallas, who is standing for the ALP in the new seat of Werribee on Saturday, said a Labor government would consider the business case on merit before committing to any funding.
Mr Pallas said the East Werribee Employment Precinct was an initiative of the previous Labor government and, if properly managed, would provide great opportunities for job creation.
He said Labor’s jobs plan would set up funds for growth industries and provide payroll tax rebates for businesses that were hiring unemployed young people, the long-term unemployed and retrenched workers.
Western Metropolitan Region Liberal MP Andrew Elsbury said a re-elected Coalition would continue with its plan to create 200,000 jobs across the state.
