Question details
Morwell electorate
(272) My question is for the Minister for Regional Development in the other place. Minister, when will you deliver Latrobe Valley a plan that shows leadership and delivers new industry for workers to transition to? Last week the Latrobe Valley Authority finally released the transition plan for my community. It has taken over $300 million and nearly seven years for the LVA to produce an Andrews Labor government propaganda piece. Minister, it contains 52 recommendations but not a single one has a measurable action, assigned responsibility or time frame – nothing. The LVA plan is a wasted opportunity. No other region has been impacted quite like my valley. Our community is haemorrhaging jobs, and feel-good words do not do a single thing to transition our community. Morwell’s unemployment is a shocking 11.5 per cent, the worst in the state. Labor’s track record in the valley is appalling, with no successful investment establishing a new industry. Big job promises like SEA Electric and the Commonwealth Games were farcical, and the SEC is nothing more than a mere headline.
The Allan Labor Government has always backed Latrobe Valley workers, their families and the community - and we always will.
We have made record investments and contributed thousands of additional jobs to the region's workforce in the past decade and will continue to work with businesses, industry and the community on place-based opportunities that connect to the region's areas of competitive advantage.
Regional Development Victoria, including staff with deep connections to Gippsland, continues to serve the whole· region as it navigates continuing economic transition.
Regional Development Victoria Gippsland (RDV Gippsland) is supporting several important worker and youth employment pathway programs, including Latrobe Youth Space and the Ladder Step Up Program.
RDV Gippsland is also pursuing a range of important economic development projects for the region designed to support job creation and economic prosperity.
These include the development ofthe Gippsland Logistics and Manufacturing Precinct, a partnership with Latrobe City Council to establish a 69-hectare precinct to open up much needed industrial land. The first stage of this development was released to the market on 2 September 2024 and is expected to create up to 1,000 new jobs when fully operational, bringing together on one site, advanced manufacturing, transport and logistics sectors and supply chain industries.
The precinct is also the focal point for a project in partnership with the University of Melbourne, to explore opportunities to leverage the Latrobe Valley's unique geothermal resource to enhance the region's capacity in food manufacturing.
Nearby, Bidfoods has constructed a state-of-the art cold storage warehouse and distribution facility are creating up to 40 new full-time jobs in the Latrobe Valley.
Latrobe Magnesium's 1,000 tonnes per annum demonstration plant at Hazelwood North in the Latrobe Valley will extract_ magnesium metal from brown coal fly ash through a patented process. This innovative project will create up to 43 new full-time jobs.
The Habitat Creations nursery in Yarragon and Moe, has been supported by RDV to establish an additional 500,000 aquatic, riparian and terrestrial plants each year, generating a boost in the company's production capacity.
Bambach Wire and Cable Pty Ltd are expanding at their Rosedale facility introducing new cable manufacturing technology to support expansion into the Defence industry and rail projects while also exploring opportunities in the developing Gippsland offshore wind sector.
The team at RDV Gippsland continues to work closely with colleagues at the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action to ensure that the region is connected to the significant job opportunities represented by offshore wind.
TAFE Gippsland is also at the centre of our energy transition training efforts. This includes $5 million towards a Clean Energy Centre at Morwell and working with EnergyAustralia, Southerly Ten, and Federation University to outline opportunities for coal workers and students to reskill for careers in Gippsland's emerging offshore wind industry.
Victoria's offshore wind energy generation capacity targets provide local industry with the incentive to build on existing capability and become active participants in the offshore wind supply chain and expand into the broader clean economy.
RDV remains the government's key regional economic development agency focused on growing regional Victoria's economic prosperity.
The Hon. Gayle Tierney MP
Minister for Regional Development