Tuesday, 3 March 2020

Lara electorate infrastructure projects

Mr EREN (Lara) (13:48): It has been a massive two weeks in my electorate since the last time Parliament sat. We had the official opening of Barwon Health North, which is a new $33 million flagship health hub in Geelong to give local families the world-class health care they deserve right on their doorstep. In addition to the urgent care centre, the facility will offer medical imaging facilities, child and family services, renal dialysis, pathology and specialty clinics, which are open from 8.00 am to 10.00 pm every day, with a walk-in centre open from 2.00 pm to 10.00 pm every day.

We also recently had the sod turn for the works at the multimillion-dollar Chisholm Road prison project site. This prison will be Victoria’s largest maximum-security prison and when completed will hold more than 1200 beds. The project is expected to deliver economic benefits worth $173 million to the Greater Geelong region, including more than 900 direct jobs and several hundred indirect jobs during the construction phase alone. Once operational, the prison will provide more than 650 ongoing jobs, including prison officers, psychologists, teachers, allied health professionals, administrators and maintenance staff.

Importantly, 30 000 hours of work have been earmarked specifically for disadvantaged Victorians, and $8.9 million worth of activities will be awarded to Victorians with disability. (Time expired)