Welcome back folks to Connolly’s Corner.
Civic culture and community life aren’t exactly what first comes to mind when talking about the
State Government and the suburbs of Melbourne’s Outer West. Quite often instead, the hype and
benefits surrounding civic culture and creative industries could lead you to believe they’re the sole
province of ‘trendy’ inner-city suburbs.
I won’t shy away from it when I say we deserve to have, and can have, a thriving creative community
right here in Wyndham. Because community life and local culture start when and where the
community comes together.
Which is why I’m really happy to share with you that this is exactly the kind of thinking around
community life and civic pride in the ‘Outer Burbs’ that we’re injecting back into Tarneit through
Suburban Revitalisation.
The Tarneit Revitalisation Project was set up last year by our Government to create local jobs and
fund smaller, but no less important, projects and events to bring new life into the area in partnership
with Wyndham City Council.
As your local Member, I sit on the Tarneit Revitalisation Board along with other engaged locals such
as school principals, and individuals from local community groups and business to look at ways we
can spend this money to create positive opportunities in our community. And I have to say – your
Board Members alongside Council have come up with some incredible ideas!
We’ve even already seen some of these projects come to life such as the beautiful new mural
painted across the front entrance to Tarneit Gardens Shopping Centre. More recently we also
announced a greenspace upgrade of $400,000 for Camelot Park, Tarneit Waterways, Moondara Park
and Meeree Reserve. With this funding, we’ll soon see these interconnected parklands reinvigorated
into the lovely functional open spaces families can enjoy. And when coupled with the announcement
that we’re committed to planting 500,000 trees across Melbourne’s West, these parks could rival
any in the leafy eastern suburbs.
Over the coming months, I’ll continue to make a series of announcements about what we’ve got
planned for the next 18months of Tarneit Suburban Revitalisation as the Board decides. Because
murals and park upgrades aren’t the only things we’re delivering when it comes to suburban
revitalisation. Now there is a light at the end of this COVID tunnel we’ve been in for the past year
and a half. And when we get there, I want to see Tarneit thrive with fantastic outdoor spaces for
families to enjoy, and wonderful events that bring our community closer together.
