Martin Cutter offended by MPs’ criticism of project delivery as Dan Andrews weighs in

City of Greater Geelong chief executive Martin Cutter has hit back at a letter from a group of government MPs critical of council, saying it has “substantial inaccuracies”.

City of Greater Geelong chief executive Martin Cutter is “bitterly disappointed” a group of state government MPs has publicly vented “growing concern and lack of confidence” in the city’s ability to deliver key state-funded projects.

His response came as Premier Daniel Andrews on Friday visited Geelong and added to the public criticism of the council.

But when asked why the State Government was itself yet to pick a site for a new Armstrong Creek fire station more than 1300 days after promising the project, Mr Andrews said it was “not a matter of rushing”.

A letter sent to the city on behalf of five state Labor MPs – and revealed by the Geelong Advertiser on Friday – warned that the Government would prioritise major projects which did not rely on the city’s involvement, and threatened to freeze CoGG out of planning for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The MPs, Lisa Neville, Gayle Tierney, John Eren, Christine Couzens and Darren Cheeseman, claimed there was a “disturbing trend developing with important projects that have had significant funding provided by the State Government, being delayed, de-prioritised and / or mismanaged by CoGG”.

City of Greater Geelong chief executive Martin Cutter says the MPs’ letter contained “significant inaccuracies”. Picture: Glenn Ferguson

But Mr Cutter on Friday responded to the State Government’s scathing public dressing down.

“As the chief executive of the City of Greater Geelong I am bitterly disappointed that five of our local state members of parliament have chosen to raise concerns regarding the delivery of several local projects in the media rather than approach the City directly to have an informed discussion,” Mr Cutter said.

“Unfortunately the arguments put forward in the letter sent to the Council from the local ministers after 8pm last night include a number of significant inaccuracies, which could have been discussed and resolved quickly had they chosen to reach out earlier.

“The City regularly communicates with our local members of parliament. They are offered briefings on any matter of interest, and are welcome to contact me directly at any time.

“Again, I offer these MPs the opportunity to have a discussion with the City regarding the issues raised via the media in coming days.”

Premier Daniel Andrews responds to questions while touring Geelong Hospital on Friday. Picture: Alan Barber

Mr Andrews visited Geelong on Friday morning and added his personal frustrations, which echoed those in the letter.

“The City of Greater Geelong don’t pay for much, but they stand in the way of everything,” Mr Andrews said. “And that’s just not good enough.

“Either get on with it, or get out of the way.”

But, Mr Andrews was more understanding of time delays when asked about the more than 1300 days which had elapsed between the government pledging $8.18m for an Armstrong Creek fire station and recent revelations a site was yet to be selected for the key project.

“Every project can be complex; no work that you do is easy, otherwise it would have been done years ago,” Mr Andrews said.

“We’ve got to find a site, and it’s not a matter of rushing to do it and building it in precisely the wrong spot. You’ve got to do the hard work.”

Liberal candidate for South Barwon Andrew Katos has accused the State Government of itself “failing to deliver”.

Liberal candidate for South Barwon Andrew Katos on Friday took a swipe at the State Government, labelling its criticism of the city “the height of hypocrisy”.

“There are numerous State Government promises in the Geelong region that have yet to be delivered that are massively over budget and whose timelines are in the never, never,” Mr Katos said.

“This letter is an arrogant display of bullying by Geelong’s state Labor MP’s in an attempt to deflect from their own incompetence.”

Originally published as Martin Cutter offended by MPs’ criticism of project delivery as Dan Andrews weighs in