Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to commend the government on our City Deals policy, which drives agreements between all levels of government to deliver investment and opportunity. Last week, I am very pleased to say here in the chamber, I convened a roundtable with the Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation, the member for Hume, along with local government mayors, CEOs, the Committee for Geelong and the Geelong Chamber of Commerce, and also Elaine Carbines from G21, pushing our case, Minister, for a City Deal for the Geelong region. Through City Deals, governments, industry and communities are developing collective plans for growth and committing to the actions, investments, reforms and governance needed to implement them. Sadly, across the Geelong region, planning has been poor. A City Deal will force all three levels of government around the table and agree on an action plan.

As part of the Townsville City Deal, an independent development corporation has been established. That is exactly what we need for Geelong. Under Premier Andrews, there are few major infrastructure projects in the pipeline for the Geelong region and for Corangamite. We are still waiting to see a business case for the Geelong Convention and Exhibition Centre. We need fast rail to Melbourne, we need an East West Link to unclog the West Gate Bridge, and we need more investment in tourism. This week, G21 will meet with the Prime Minister. We are lobbying, Minister, very hard for a City Deal for our region.