Thursday, 14 August 2025

Infrastructure contributions

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (17:39): (1852) My question is for the Treasurer, concerning the growth areas infrastructure contribution collected by the councils in Melbourne’s west. It has come to my attention that the state government is holding onto hundreds of millions of dollars of the growth areas infrastructure collection collected by the councils. I ask the Treasurer to guarantee, moving forward, that all funds collected by the councils in Melbourne’s west from the growth areas infrastructure collection be allocated back to them by the state government to deliver essential local infrastructure and services, including recreation spaces, playgrounds, community pools and sports reserves. In Melbourne’s west, under this scheme, we are handing over to the Labor government as much as the north and south corridors of Melbourne combined. Pleas from my councils in the west to ensure that much-needed funds are being spent locally have so far been ignored by the Labor government. At the moment the funds are being redistributed to councils at the preference of the Labor government at the expense of booming growth areas like Melton, Wyndham and surrounding areas in my electorate of Western Metropolitan Region, meaning we in the west are missing out and are being treated like second-class citizens.

Melton has just over 51 per cent of the funds it has raised being directed back to local projects, and only half of the funds raised are being allocated back to areas where they need to be implemented. Elsewhere, councils on the other side of Melbourne – yes, under this same scheme – in the eastern suburbs are seeking almost 100 per cent of the funds to be allocated back to local projects. This is unfair and not acceptable when the Allan Labor government cherrypicks projects and does not fully allocate funds back to where they were intended for – that is, to deliver essential local infrastructure and services for the growth areas. As one of Melbourne’s fastest growing areas, the west needs more local infrastructure to accommodate population growth, for better roads, for more public transport, more schools and more local services, which means the government needs to ensure that the ongoing funds raised by this project in the west stay in the west and are directly returned back to the west’s community for equality and fairness.