Steve Bracks set to unveil bold plans to transform Melbourne’s inner west
50,000 new jobs could be heading to Melbourne’s inner west, with former premier Steve Bracks unveiling a bold new plan to bring new tram lines, a legal precinct and an NGV outpost to the rapidly expanding area.
National
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A new sports stadium, a second home for the National Gallery of Victoria and extra tram lines are part of former premier Steve Bracks’ vision to transform Melbourne’s inner west.
Mr Bracks is leading the charge to create 50,000 new jobs in Sunshine, which he says should include government services being shifted from the CBD to a new courts and public administration hub.
The West of Melbourne Economic Development Alliance, chaired by the former Labor premier, will today unveil its plan to invigorate the Sunshine area, with Melbourne’s west expected to be home to 1.5 million people by 2036 — making it bigger than Adelaide.
Sunshine will become a key transport hub in the new airport rail link, which Mr Bracks said was a “transformational” opportunity for the suburb, just 10km from the CBD.
WoMEDA’s “Sunshine – Daring to be Great” strategy, to be launched by Public Transport Minister Melissa Horne, says the new “fast train link to the city” must be backed by tram links to Footscray, Deer Park, Altona and Moonee Ponds.
About 230,000 people commute daily out of the west for work, which Mr Bracks said amplified the need for more local jobs to prevent “gridlock and a dysfunctional society”.
The report says 8000 jobs could be created by establishing a legal precinct near major prisons with new courts, a not-for-profit legal service and some city-based functions of the Department of Justice.
“You don’t need to have everything in the centre of the city,” Mr Bracks said.
Another 9000 jobs could be created with tourism initiatives. The report says the city’s next stadium should be at Energy Park, a former landfill site, and proposes a convention centre and hotel at Victoria University.
Mr Bracks said Sunshine was also the logical place for a new branch of the NGV to display some of its “enormous collection”.
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The report calls for a jobs institute to plan for employment growth in the west, finding as many as 30,000 jobs could be created across hospitals and medical research facilities, as well as advanced manufacturing businesses boosted by local training centres.
“There are areas where the west lags the city as a whole, but the goal is not just to catch up, the challenge is to create a dynamic region which leads the city,” Mr Bracks said.
Former Andrews government minister Wade Noonan is WoMEDA’s executive director, and the group includes representatives of local institutions include Western Bulldogs chief Ameet Bains.
Originally published as Steve Bracks set to unveil bold plans to transform Melbourne’s inner west