Anger as federal cash pledged to Melbourne’s south-east is shelved

Hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked by the federal government for Melbourne’s disadvantaged south-east has been put on ice, angering mayors who argue their communities are missing out on cash.

The fast-growing region was promised a City Deal in the lead-up to the 2019 election to build infrastructure and create jobs, but the work has since stalled, leaving Melbourne as the only capital city in the country without one of the stimulus projects.

A group of mayors say they are “disappointed and angered that the 1.5 million residents of south-east Melbourne have been overlooked again”.Credit: Joe Armao

City Deals are mostly funded by the Commonwealth, in partnerships with state and local governments, and have pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into jobs and infrastructure.

Last month, federal Cities Minister Paul Fletcher wrote to the mayors of Kingston, Cardinia, Knox, Dandenong, Monash, Mornington Peninsula and Frankston, as well as the administrator of Casey Council, to tell them the deal would have to wait until a separate project for Melbourne’s north-west is finalised.

The city’s north-west is among the fastest-growing regions in the country and was the worst-affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Fletcher’s letter came months after he was asked for an update, and three years after then-minister Alan Tudge made the announcement.

The greater south-east, which has a large migrant and refugee population, is expected to grow to 2 million people by 2036 and the mayors argued strategic investment was needed to create jobs and minimise congestion.

The group of mayors said they were “disappointed and angered that the 1.5 million residents of south-east Melbourne have been overlooked again.

“We note that other City Deals across Australia have already received hundreds of millions of dollars. The leveraged value of many of these City Deals, as described by the federal government itself, often exceeds $1 billion.”

Kingston mayor Steve Staikos, a Labor member, said the pandemic should have accelerated investment to create liveable communities, and he called on the federal government to put politics aside.

Federal minister Paul Fletcher.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The delay to the City Deal comes after analysis by The Age found federal government grants have favoured electorates held by Liberal MPs.

Grants handed out included $5700 cash for the St Kevin’s Old Boys Football Club to purchase ice compression gear; two grants worth $5000 for a men-only golf club in Glen Iris; and cash for the Old Haileyburians’ Amateur Football Club and the Old Geelong Football Club.

The eight south-east councils have been pursuing an airport, a recycled water plant, three extended rail lines, a stadium and improved roads.

Jim Memeti, also a Labor member and the mayor of Dandenong, where youth unemployment is about 20 per cent, said the region was among the most disadvantaged in the country.

“We want to make sure that we don’t miss out.”

Concerns about the deal have been brewing since Mr Fletcher in August failed to list the south-east among the City Deals he was pursuing despite the election promise.

“City Deals have been agreed to date for Perth, Darwin, Adelaide, Geelong, Hobart, Launceston, Townsville and western Sydney. We are working on future City Deals for south-east Queensland and north-west Melbourne,” he wrote in Infrastructure Magazine.

Julian Hill, federal Labor member for the seat of Bruce, which covers Dandenong, said Prime Minister Scott Morrison had failed to make good on his election promise. “Melbourne is now the only capital city in Australia with no City Deal from the Prime Minister for NSW.”

Mr Fletcher was contacted for comment.

A Victorian government spokesperson said the state “will always advocate for our fair share of investment from the Commonwealth, whether it be through City Deals or our many other projects that are improving Victoria’s economy, connectivity and liveability”.

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