Hansard debates

Mr McGUIRE (Broadmeadows) (09:50:17): It’s time for a new deal. It’s time for a needs-based strategy for economic and cultural development. I applaud the Andrews government’s record investment in infrastructure, which the Treasurer rightly highlights is greater in one year than the Australian government’s infrastructure investment nationally for a decade. This is why it is crucial to seize the opportunity to define a city deal for Melbourne’s north and west, which I have campaigned hard to deliver. It should be harnessed as a mechanism to attract new industries and jobs, increase economic activity and productivity and address dramatic population growth. The Australian government’s election commitment to a north-west Melbourne city deal provides a unique opportunity for all levels of government to work together to unlock the region’s full potential. Reserve Bank governor, Philip Lowe, is calling for major spending programs on infrastructure. Infrastructure Australia said: Rather than a short-term boom, the historic level of activity we are seeing in the sector must, and is likely, to continue for the next 15 years and potentially beyond. This must be the new normal if we are to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead … So we have a great opportunity. I spoke yesterday to the interface councils, and they are on board to be collaborative as well. We have investments now in Melbourne’s north, and particularly if you have a look at the Ford site, we have got an investor with $500 million on the table to redevelop that site with new technology and new industries in Broadmeadows and in Geelong. That is why I think it is a real opportunity to deliver in collaboration.