Tuesday, 29 July 2025

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (15:24): In the last sitting week I asked Minister Shing why construction had not yet commenced on a housing project in Flora Hill that was originally announced as an athletes village for the Commonwealth Games. Following the state Labor government’s chaotic cancellation of the Commonwealth Games, it was announced that 160 homes, including 56 social and affordable homes, would still be built. The games were cancelled in July 2023, and by 25 June, two years after the cancellation, there had still been no progress on the housing project. Labor sat on their hands while over 3000 families in Greater Bendigo languished on the social housing waiting list, waiting for a roof over their heads. After my question in Parliament, the Premier and housing minister issued a media release patting themselves on the back for starting early works. But what do these early works include? They include erecting a fence around the building site, removing some old broken footpaths and an admission that the construction of homes will not commence until 2027. In effect, the Premier and the minister issued a media release to say they were erecting a fence – how bizarre. The Premier and the minister even had the arrogance to call these early works a major milestone for the project. The government should be embarrassed to draw attention to how little it has done in Bendigo and how late this project is running. The Allan Labor government is showing no urgency at all in providing much-needed social housing while families languish on the waiting list in Bendigo.