Heidi Kraak
Member for Morwell Russell Northe will seek $40 million from the state government to establish a fund provide essential services infrastructure for local development projects.
The Latrobe Essential Services Fund would provide financial support for the installation of off-site services, such as water mains, roads, sewerage and electricity connection associated with often already-approved development projects.
It comes after Mr Northe raised the issue in Parliament recently, calling on Minister for Industry and Resources Ben Carroll to address what he described as the region’s “jobs crisis” by progressing the Morwell North West and the Traralgon North Developments, along with the Lake Narracan and the Morwell East Industrial Precincts.
“One of the frustrating things for a number of people in our community is we have approved projects that site within the municipality that are ready to go but are not able to commence primarily due to financial impediments of on-site infrastructure,” Mr Northe said at Lake Narracan today.
“What I am proposing today is to establish a $40 million Latrobe Essentail Services fund that would go towards ensuring that not only this project [Lake Narracan Development project], but other projects across the municipality could be accommodated under that particular fund.
“This idea would allow the essential service providers to [apply] for funds under this program, not the developer, to enable the development and commencement of important projects such as this.”
Mr Northe said projects, such as the Lake Narracan development, were being “stalled” due to the high cost of essential services.
“We have to break this nexus and this impasse,” he said.
“We can get things moving again in Latrobe City.
“It is not just this high level development here, there are developers across the municipality where site infrastructure is required to makes sure developments can commence.”
Narracan Lakes development director Pearse Morgan, who oversees the development on the western side of the lake, said infrastructure costs were “stifling development” in the region.
“There is a significant cost in terms of sewer, water and road infrastructure needing to be brought to this precinct plan area to get the development started,” he said.
“This fund would make a significant difference to getting the project off the ground.”
Mr Morgan said the fund was “much more equitable” and would prevent infrastructure costs from being singularly borne by a “pioneer developer”.
“You’ve got a fund that could provide the resources for the local authorities to be able to undertake the infrastructure that is required to bring it to site, so that everybody, all the landowners and developers in this area, could benefit from that.”
For more, see Monday’s Express.
