By XAVIER SMERDON
VICTORIAN Premier Denis Napthine has declared Wyndham as one of his Government’s top priorities as he promised to bring his key politicians to the area to hear from residents.
Dr Napthine visited Werribee last week to announce that the first community forum with his Cabinet in the Melbourne area would be held in Wyndham.
He said a full Cabinet meeting would be held in Werribee with the Wyndham Council, where they would receive a full briefing from the council on the most pressing issues facing the area.
Each Minister will then split up and visit organisations throughout the western suburbs that are relevant to their own portfolios.
Later in the day they will reconvene at the Werribee Civic Centre to hold a public meeting, in which residents will be able to ask questions of any Minister, including the Premier.
Dr Napthine told Star he thought the biggest complaint from residents attending the forum would be about a lack of infrastructure.
“I think there’s no doubt that in a fast growing area like this people will be saying how do we match the infrastructure for the growth areas?” Dr Napthine said.
“The State Government’s challenge is to provide the infrastructure that goes with that.
“There are demands right across the state and balancing those demands isn’t always easy, but we know there are special demands here in this growth area. We’ve got to do that in a planning sense and we’ve got to do that in an infrastructure sense.”
The Premier, who studied to be a Veterinarian in Werribee in the 1970s, said recent investment in Wyndham and the rest of the West foreshadowed a tide of change in the area.
“We’re a government that wants to listen to the local community,” he said.
“We are addressing the growth and infrastructure needs in the Werribee region through projects such as the East Werribee Employment Precinct, the expansion of mental health services at the Werribee Mercy Hospital and new schools at Wyndham Vale South and Truganina.”
The Cabinet forum will be held on Monday 7 October from 5.30pm at the Civic Centre.
For more information or to register for the event, visit www.premier.vic.gov.au/cabinetvisits or call 9651 5640.
