Casey Council warns southeast desperately needs airport, train line to Clyde, billions in road works

IT’S one of Melbourne’s fastest-growing regions, and an airport and billions on rail and road upgrades head the City of Casey’s wishlist in the lead up to the 2018 election.

An airport in the southeast is on Casey Council’s election wishlist.

A SOUTHEAST airport and billions in rail and road upgrades will head the City of Casey’s wishlist in the lead up to the 2018 election.

Following news that a private consortium wanted to build a $7 billion airport near Koo Wee Rup and Lang Lang, Cr Sam Aziz said the council would benefit from almost half a billion in income, thousands of new jobs as well as the benefits that would stem from bringing 5.1 million passengers through the area each year.

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Cr Aziz said as well as making the airport an election wish, the council also wanted at least $2 billion in investment to upgrade roads in Casey and a promise that the Cranbourne rail line will be extended to service Clyde, Cranbourne East, and the new airport.

The council will advocate for the extension of the Cranbourne train line through to Clyde, which Leader has been campaigning for since March 2015. Picture: Jason Sammon

He said in the next 20 years southeast Melbourne’s population would be greater than that of Tasmania and it didn’t make sense to drive 90 minutes or more to get to the airport at Tullamarine.

“(An airport in the southeast) will create 3000 new jobs and deliver a direct benefit of $120 million turnover each year and also $500 million in economic impact,” he said.

“We will be going to the next state election to engage both political parties to promise an undertaking that will deliver key infrastructure in terms of an arterial roads network, a rail transport network and extend the rail line into Clyde, which is Australia’s fastest-growing rail corridor.

“They (the State Government) have spent $1.4 billion in the west and we believe … that investment should be matched.”

Cranbourne Leader has been campaigning for the extension of the Cranbourne rail line through to Clyde, as part of its ‘Put Clyde Back on Track campaign.

Daniel Andrews and Matthew Guy did not respond to Leader’s questions.