By Charlene Gatt
MARIBYRNONG councillor Sel Sanli wants containers out and manufacturing in around the Tottenham and Brooklyn precincts to try to boost employment in the region.
Cr Sanli, whose ward takes in parts of the two suburbs, said the council needed to work with the State and Federal
Governments to utilise the land to its
best effect.
“It’s more about making the land more efficient, more employment – being an industrial zone, I don’t think the community is being well-resourced with its employment in the area,” he told Star.
“If I was to narrow it down to Braybrook, which has quite high unemployment rates, it’s looking at other ways to change business from container parks to, ideally, manufacturing, where you can get more unskilled labourers working there.”
Cr Sanli said getting rid of the container parks also had the advantage of reducing truck traffic in the West.
The council had been working
with the previous State Government on overhauling the Braybrook and Tottenham precincts to tie in with the WestLink tunnel, which was meant to come out in that area.
Cr Sanli said indications from Maribyrnong CEO Vince Haining were that the Baillieu State Government was still keen to go ahead with the project.
“I know that the previous government had ideas about the freight container
hubs in the East, North and the West… that might be a solution for it.
I’m not saying it is the solution, but it is a solution.
“As we’re getting more high-density living in our population, we understand how important land is and we understand how important jobs are for social well-being for a person, or family, or economic development of a nation. It’s got very broad, positive impacts.
“Having a very high unemployment rate in the western suburbs is not good enough.”
