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Legislative Assembly
 
Public Accounts and Estimates Committee: budget estimates 2016-17

21 June 2017
Statements on reports
FRANK McGUIRE  (ALP)

 


Mr McGUIRE (Broadmeadows) — I want to refer to Public Accounts and Estimates Committee's inquiry into the budget estimates 2016–17, particularly in relation to the contribution by the Minister for Industry and Employment, who referred to how working in a coordinated fashion presents an opportunity to drive strategic advantage. I want to continue my contributions on this matter, particularly with regard to the Victorian government but also how it relates to working with the Australian government in a collaborative fashion to get better results.

I want to refer to a letter I recently received from the federal Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation, the Honourable Angus Taylor, who refers to the strategy that I produced. He says:

I read Creating Opportunity: Postcodes of Hope with interest and was impressed by the depth of thought it shows about the issues facing the Broadmeadows community. The fast-growing suburbs of our major cities are where many of the major challenges facing cities are most keenly felt. Affordable housing, access to good jobs, education and training, and infrastructure and services that support strong growth are fundamental to the success of our cities and the nation. This is why productive cities — underpinned by smart policy, smart investment smart technology — are a priority for the commonwealth government.

I am glad to hear that, particularly the strategic nature of it and its understanding of Broadmeadows and the opportunity that it presents. The minister went on to say:

I encourage you to raise your views on the potential for Broadmeadows to be part of a future city deal with the Victorian Premier.

The assistant minister also said:

You may also be interested in the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program, another initiative under the Turnbull government's Smart Cities Plan. The program is providing $50 million to support projects that apply smart technology solutions to urban problems.

In fact I am interested and will pursue all of those propositions, but I also want to point out how difficult it is to get the alignment right between the three tiers of government to actually deliver the results. I have been encouraged by the Victorian Planning Authority's recently published report on Greater Broadmeadows, and I will quote directly from it on its vision:

Greater Broadmeadows will become the powerhouse of Melbourne's north. Catalyst investments and actions will unlock development potential for growth in local employment and for diversified housing.

It points out and echoes the strategy that I have outlined — that Greater Broadmeadows will provide:

… connected 20-minute neighbourhoods with improved amenity and enhanced access to local jobs'

Further, it states that development will build on:

… current state and local government investment in key infrastructure such as the Hume Global Learning Centre, Broadmeadows schools regeneration, the Broadmeadows town hall redevelopment and the Meadowlink open space link.

We have this incredible potential here in Broadmeadows, only 16 kilometres from the heart of the world's most liveable city. We have already got the established infrastructure, including two train lines in. We have a spur to the Ford site, which is the size of a suburb. It has enormous potential because, even though they have closed the manufacturing there, Ford have reinvested hundreds of millions of dollars in the technology that they offer. They are using it now as their hub and centre for innovation for the Asia-Pacific. In fact it is regarded as the world's leading innovator for Ford. We also have CSL, one of our most elegant companies, with a share price of about $130 currently, and there is a great opportunity there to increase the export of life-saving blood products from Broadmeadows.

We have the Maygar barracks as another hub and another opportunity for how we use that land and how we coordinate the opportunity there. We have the Irish company Kingspan that has just invested $40 million in green technology that can be exported as well. But we need to get the coordination right with the federal government because its other proposition is to build a detention centre housing convicted paedophiles, drug traffickers and members of outlaw bikie gangs in the Maygar barracks complex.

I raised this with the federal Parliament when the committee came to Broadmeadows. This is so flawed it highlights why the Australian system of government is broken and must urgently be fixed. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection plan cannot be justified on economic, social or heritage grounds, and represents the triumph of politics over rational decision-making. The Turnbull government's plan to build a jail for high and extreme-risk detainees fails the commonwealth's paramount obligation to obtain the highest and best use of valuable land. Instead this plan represents the lowest and worst use of a strategic asset, especially for the Turnbull government's election-winning priority of jobs and growth.