Thursday, 16 November 2023

Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution Fund

Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (18:02): (603) My adjournment tonight is directed towards the Minister for Planning and Minister for the Suburbs and concerns the Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution Fund. When I called the Premier out earlier this year – the former Premier – for hoarding funds and sitting on half a billion dollars worth of GAIC money, money that is owed to growth areas, the then Premier denied this was the case strongly: ‘We don’t rush to provide funding to projects, we think about the best projects for a local community and we do that properly.’ He made it sound like progress was already underway in delivering that GAIC money to communities, despite holding it up to prop up the budget for 2½ years. But we found out recently – and I know, because I speak to my local councils – that my local councils in growth areas have only just been consulted recently on what they would like from the Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution Fund.

This is a fund that has been used to prop up the budget, but I would like to humbly ask the minister to strongly consider using these GAIC funds to improve public transport for the people of Greenvale. In particular there are two specific bus routes that I am really passionate about and I have spoken to a lot of locals about. There should be a bus service between Greenvale and Craigieburn; it is a no-brainer. You have got Greenvale shopping centre on one side of Mickleham Road and you have got Craigieburn Central up the top end of Mickleham Road, with no way for people getting by public transport from Greenvale to a bigger shopping centre up at Craigieburn Central. This is a really important project. I often do listening posts at Greenvale shopping centre, and about every second person complains there is no bus.

The second bus service needed is one between Greenvale and Airport West and back. I know many of my constituents have asked me about this particular bus service and when it would possibly be available. Some of the bus routes in the northern suburbs, just like the western suburbs, have not been updated in about 10 years, so we are living a decade ago, we are not living in today’s time.

You have got tens of thousands more people moving into these areas. It is important to remember the GAIC money is not government money or GAIC money; it is money funded by developers, passed on to homebuyers, to fund infrastructure in their growing communities. Over $90 million is now owed to communities within the Hume City Council area. I thought it was a bit of chutzpah for the government in the housing statement to say that they are bringing forward a package of works out of the Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution Fund when they had been sitting on it for 2½ years doing nothing with it when it is meant to go to growth areas in my community and around the state.