Hansard debates

Mr McGUIRE (Broadmeadows) (09:56): Economic development should drive the Australian government’s proposed city deal for Melbourne’s north-west and the revitalisation of Broadmeadows. My plan is to continue building unity tickets around nation-defining infrastructure anchored by the two $15 billion projects agreed by the Australian and Victorian governments—the rail link to Melbourne Airport and the missing link in our road network, the North East Link. This is the big-picture strategy Melbourne’s north craves and the best opportunity to revitalise Broadmeadows as an epicentre for new industries and jobs.

Australians are still reeling with a sense of betrayal at the demise of our once-proud automotive industry and this week’s announcement that Holden cars will no longer be built. Never forget the impact on blue-collar communities. The last Holden Cruze rolled off the production line on 7 October 2016, the same day Ford closed in Geelong and Broadmeadows, marking the end of a way of life for many in these communities.

But Broadmeadows is making a comeback. I am delighted to have helped inspire a $500 million private investor in the Ford sites and to be reappointed chair of the Broadmeadows Revitalisation Board. The investor is already planning to convert part of the derelict Ford site on Barry Road, Broadmeadows, into a retail and hospitality hub with a much-needed childcare centre near the train line. We recently opened a $25 million redevelopment of Town Hall Broadmeadows, a co-funded partnership with Hume City Council. Rugby League and Melbourne Storm’s field of dreams has also been approved to be built in Broadmeadows. These investments add to my advocacy to the Australian government, defining why Broadmeadows should be the critical hub driving economic and cultural development to underwrite future prosperity as it has so successfully delivered in the past.