By Xavier Smerdon
WERRIBEE will benefit from a Liberal Party plan to build a new rail line to link Avalon Airport to Melbourne and Geelong.
Coalition leader Ted Baillieu unveiled the election policy last week, saying the Liberals would contribute $50 million for design and planning, land acquisition and preliminary construction works of the rail link.
“This rail link will allow passengers to travel from Melbourne, Geelong or even Warrnambool by train direct to Avalon Airport and will support the Coalition’s plan for Avalon as Victoria’s second international airport,” Mr Baillieu said.
Liberal candidate for Tarneit, Glenn Goodfellow, said the election promise would directly benefit Werribee and the rest of Wyndham.
“This means that the people of Werribee will now have a direct access to Avalon,” Mr Goodfellow said.
“They can catch the train to the airport and don’t have to drive.”
Mr Goodfellow said the project would also have benefits for Werribee’s economy. “This will provide a direct link into the Werribee tourism precinct,” he said.
But Public Transport Minister, Martin Pakula, said that Mr Baillieu was giving Victorian’s false hope by promising projects that have not been costed. “Mr Baillieu needs to go and buy himself a new bookcase for all these reports he is proposing and he can not be trusted to deliver anything until he submits his costings to the independent Treasury of Victoria,” Mr Pakula said.
