Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Corangamite spoke in this chamber on the need for investment in the Geelong convention centre, fast rail to Melbourne and tourism. She did that on 20 March. She talked about how hard she was lobbying the Prime Minister for a city deal for Geelong. Let's be clear—this government has neglected Australian cities in its 2017 budget with no real investment for policies or programs.

The Prime Minister and his parliamentary secretary for cities have spoken a lot about expanding the City Deals program, but not a single extra dollar has been allocated in this year's budget to make it a reality. That means there is no funding for a Geelong city deal. The government has made no announcements about a city deal for Geelong. Indeed, at this stage, there is no Geelong city deal. The fact is Geelong has experienced significant growth in its population, and this will only continue. By 2036, the population of the City of Greater Geelong is expected to increase by another 100,000 people. The member for Corangamite needs to avoid a repeat of her Land 400 performance—all talk and no action. Geelong needs more than just the member for Corangamite's rhetoric. We need real leadership from the Commonwealth government and real investment.