Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to inform the House about Timbarra Estate in Berwick in my electorate of La Trobe. The Victorian state government has indicated that it intends to sell off a large tract of vacant land in Timbarra adjacent to the Timbarra Primary School. It is this plan I wish to discuss. Timbarra Estate falls squarely within the Melbourne south-eastern growth corridor.

When Timbarra Estate was established in the early 1990s the land was set aside as a site for a new secondary school. Many families moved into Timbarra under the expectation that there would be a local primary school and a local secondary school beside it. Unfortunately, now the state government have reneged on their promise to local residents and we are no longer going to see a secondary school. As the matter stands, once this land is sold, the proceeds of the sale will go into the state treasury coffers, which are already brimming with GST revenue.

As one could easily imagine, residents in this area are very unhappy about this state of affairs, and a number of constituents have contacted me to voice their displeasure. They ask, ‘Why should the site which we were previously promised was to have a secondary school built on it now be sold and the money go into state government coffers when there’s no need for this?’ As these constituents have pointed out, with no other government school in the vicinity, children must go to private or Catholic schools or travel to the other side of Berwick across the highway.

My understanding is that the land is currently in abeyance while the City of Casey carries out a feasibility study. It is not certain that the City of Casey will be able to come up with the money to fund whatever proposals result. Without the state government support, the City of Casey will bear both the cost of buying the land off the state government and the cost of building the facilities. In all likelihood, it could cost between $5 million and $10 million. This would then place pressure on the council to deliver other essential services, such as local roads, upgrades and infrastructure. The Victorian state government have saved as much as $20 million by not having to build the secondary school and, with a recent surplus for the state government, there is no economic reason why they cannot just hand over the land to the local community.

I have also raised my concerns with the state Labor member for Narre Warren North, and I must congratulate the Liberal candidate for Narre Warren North, Mick Morland, who is fighting this fight, and also Councillor Brian Hetherton. But true thanks must go to the Timbarra Residents Association, led by Brian Miller and his committee, who are passionate about ensuring that justice is delivered to the residents of Timbarra after the state Labor government has broken its promises and is now doubly punishing local residents.