MELBOURNE’S West has the potential to become a booming economic and social leader in Australia but the private, public and academic sectors need to unite to help create more jobs in the area, a new report claims.
The Western Agenda, a strategic action plan for the West, was created by advocacy group LeadWest and is expected to be released to the public next month.
The report claims that the West is a region that is ready for work with almost 26,000 people currently unemployed.
“Melbourne’s West is home to 13.4 per cent of Victoria’s population, but in 2012 only around 8 per cent of Victoria’s jobs are located here,” the report said.
“With rapid population growth there is a risk of a widening gap between the number of people and the number of jobs in Melbourne’s West.”
According to the report an unbalanced number of people are leaving the West for work.
The top three municipalities for workers travelling out of the area for work are Melton with 82 per cent, Brimbank with 77 per cent and Hobsons Bay with 76 per cent.
A total of 56 per cent – or 53,230 people – travel outside Wyndham for work.
A total of 239,493 people from the West leave their home municipality for work, creating congested roads and poor work-life balances.
LeadWest CEO Anton Mayer told Star jobs was the number one priority facing the West.
“That’s always been a key requirement, to try and get more job development in the West,” Mr Mayer said.
“If you’re just going to keep building on the urban fringe you will be in for a hiding because you’ll never be able to provide the infrastructure the communities need.”
Mr Mayer said the report would be delivered to all western suburbs politicians and he hoped that, along with businesses and other advocacy groups, they would use it to demand more for the region.
“The West has all the potential and hopefully we make the penny drop that the this is where an increasing number of people are coming and we need to unlock the jobs and infrastructure the region needs otherwise it will not live up to that potential,” he said.
The report took almost all of 2012 to create.
