International airport at Koo Wee Rup, ‘trackless trams’ and loans for electrifying homes proposed for southeast

Locals in Melbourne’s booming southeast have sent politicians a blueprint for the region, outlining their ideas for job, housing and liveability opportunities.

A proposed trackless tram route forms part of a blueprint for Melbourne’s booming southeast. Picture: Supplied

A new international airport near Koo Wee Rup, government-backed loans for electrifying homes, and “trackless trams” form part of a blueprint for Melbourne’s booming southeast.

Councils, community groups and employers from across southeast suburbs have sent the plan to political parties ahead of the federal election to identify job, housing and liveability opportunities in a region that extends from Cardinia and Mornington Peninsula, to Monash.

They say the region is expected to grow to two million by 2036, and has more manufacturing jobs than greater Adelaide and western Sydney – contributing $85 billion in economic activity.

A new international airport near Koo Wee Rup forms part of a blueprint for Melbourne’s booming southeast. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

To help address growth and secure more jobs, priority projects identified include:

•A pilot loan scheme to help fully electrify homes

•Fund establishment works for an international airport in the outer southeast

•Expand the Dandenong Employment Hub and a program to get young mums into jobs

•Develop ‘net zero precincts’ to turbocharge the shift to a net zero emissions economy

•Implement the $1.4bn Caulfield to Rowville “trackless trams” project

The group also recommends leveraging the push towards net zero by harnessing skills and industry capacity in the region.

Under the pilot electrification scheme, the report recommends using a loan concept proposed by non-profit group Rewiring Australia.

Based on a US scheme, it would provide a government-secured loan that “doesn’t need to be repaid until the house is sold”.

A $7bn proposal for major airport near Koo Wee Rup was floated by the private sector last decade as an answer to Sydney’s Badgerys Creek project, but is yet to get off the ground.

Federal MPs have advocated for the new freight and passenger airport in the past, however.

A $1.4bn Caulfield to Rowville “trackless trams” project has also been proposed. Picture: Bret Fleming

The trackless trams scheme, which is to create 19km of dedicated lanes from Caulfield to Rowville, is billed as offering “the ride and experience of a tram without expensive infrastructure such as tracks and overhead wires”.

The state government is doing a preliminary business case for the project, after a proposal was submitted to state and federal governments by Monash University and Vicinity Centres, which owns Chadstone Shopping Centre.

The board of Greater South East Melbourne is chaired by former Monash University chancellor Simon McKeon, and also includes former Liberal MP Margaret Fitzherbert and former deputy premier James Merlino.

Mr McKeon said southeast Melbourne is “one of the fastest growing parts of Australia’s fastest growing city”.

“With the greater southeast’s population forecast to surge past two million next decade, it’s crucial we make the most of existing infrastructure and services while also planning and building for the future,” he said.

“The GSEM region can be one of the nation’s great engine rooms for employment and growth.

“The Federal Government has a critical role to play making sure the southeast is supported to meet its full potential.”