Herald Sun | Melbourne

10th August 2012, by Anne Wright

LABOR MP Frank McGuire has accused the Baillieu Government of being a “reverse Robin Hood”, after it shelved a $14 million infrastructure project in Broadmeadows and made the cash available to dole out to wealthier suburbs.

Mr McGuire said Broadmeadows had been neglected and was missing out on muchneeded resources.

Budget papers reveal $14.7 million for a project to construct a government services building in the heart of Broadmeadows has been siphoned into a statewide fund for “central activities areas” and strategic sites.

Mr McGuire said the Government was “taking from the poorest to give to the more prosperous”.

“One of the highest duties of any government is to help the battlers whose work underwrites the prosperity of the rest of the state. It’s called a fair go for all. Yet the Coalition has ripped $14.7 million out of Broadmeadows, the capital of Melbourne’s north.”

City of Hume CEO Domenic Isola said the council was “very, very disappointed” Broadmeadows had missed out. “For us it would have created a great business opportunity and commercial opportunity for a range of businesses and others to have office spaces in Broadmeadows and have a range of workers and whitecollar workers in the area.- he said. “The greater disappointment is that allocation of funds isn’t necessarily going back into this community.

“At the moment it is earmarked in the general pool of funds to be used. We would like to ensure those funds don’t get lost from this area.”

But Planning Minister Matthew Guy said a “plush public servant palace” would be a waste. He said the money would be spent on projects in the growth corridor and in Broadmeadows, as intended.

He said the money would be better spent on roads and public facilities. Mr Guy also said the government services building was to have been finished in 2010, but construction was delayed by Labor when it was in power.

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