ISSUES concerning public open space, heritage, the environment, traffic and fears of over-development were raised by concerned Maribyrnong residents at last Thursday’s Maribyrnong defence lands public forum.
Around 150 people attended the meeting at the Maribyrnong-Maidstone RSL to discuss proposed uses of the 127-hectare site, bounded on three sides by the Maribyrnong River and to the south by Cordite Ave and Raleigh Rd.
The Federal Member for Maribyrnong, Bill Shorten, convened the meeting, with the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Support Dr Mike Kelly and State Member for Footscray Marsha Thomson.
But the site, which was originally established in 1910 as an explosives factory, will require extensive clean-up.
In its first ten years, the factory produced rifle cordite, gun propellants, initiators and varnishes for World War One Aircraft. Activities were later expanded to include filling operations for larger cartridges and shells.
The Federal Government has estimated the clean-up to cost $75 million.
But public safety won’t be compromised, and the Defence Department will bear the full cost and responsibility, Dr Kelly said.
And the process will be transparent, he assured.
“I’m working closely with our people now to make sure that we have strategies in place to deal with that public hazard aspect,” he said.
“Where we’re at, at the moment, is that Defence no longer has use of this land, and is in the process of working out with the Victorian Government the transfer of it.
“The issues we’re dealing with now is… in relation to cost cutting, and improving the financial situation of the Government in order to tackle the challenge that we face with inflation and interest rates.
“But on the other hand, we have a policy priority trying to do what we can for the housing stress our communities are currently in.
“Having said that, we haven’t made any judgement on how the property should be used eventually,” Dr Kelly said.
There were calls for parkland, memorials, an art space in line with Maribyrnong’s aboriginal heritage, a park and ride facility, public housing and a primary school to be built.
At the end of the meeting, Mr Shorten thanked the residents for their contributions and acknowledged the “waterfall of issues with cascading priorities” to be resolved.
“It’s important that Dr Kelly, Ms Thomson and I heard the views of local residents,” Mr Shorten said.
“It has given me a lot more insight on what we have to do.
“It’s vital we consider all options for this land,” he said.
Residents Ercan, Melissa and Hayden Elsem, who have lived in Maribyrnong for six years, were pleased with the way the public meeting turned out.
“It’s good to get involved before things happened, to hear what the community wants and take it from there,” Ercan Elsem said.
“This way, people have more input and hopefully it’ll benefit the community,” Melissa Elsem said.
“It was good that the Defence minister was here,” she said.
They’d like to see more parkland, community spaces, and the surrounds beautified.
Moving from the “western suburbs” to the east is often seen as an “upgrade”, which is a pity, Elsem Ercan said.
“Can you believe, we’re about 7 kilometres from the city, and you still see kangaroos, rabbits, foxes and eagles?” he said.
