Regional Victorians should have been hosting the world’s best athletes at the Commonwealth Games this week. Instead, they are waiting for unfinished legacy projects promised by the Allan Labor Government.
The Latrobe Valley was set to reap the economic rewards of hosting four events, and the athletes’ village slated for Morwell was going to be re-purposed into much-needed social and affordable housing.
Standing at the vacant would-be site for the village on English Street, The Nationals’ Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron, said the only legacy left by Labor’s cancelled Commonwealth Games was one of shame.
“In April 2022, Labor’s now Minister for Housing, Harriet Shing, proudly proclaimed the Commonwealth Games would ‘leave a legacy of affordable housing for the region’,” Mr Cameron said.
“But four years later we’re still waiting for these much-needed homes, at a time when the waitlist for public housing has ballooned to more than 66,000.
“It’s no wonder we have a housing crisis – in East Gippsland, Wellington and Latrobe, we have actually lost seven public housing properties since 2017.”
The Nationals’ Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Melina Bath, quizzed the Minister for Housing on the missing homes.
“The Latrobe Valley is in desperate needs of all forms of housing, and Labor’s sustained lack of transparency on its promised legacy housing builds is deeply troubling,” Ms Bath said.
“Of the 72 homes slated for English Street, only 10 per cent are guaranteed to be used for public housing – that’s seven homes.
“It strikes me as intriguing that just a day after being called out on social media for the missing homes in Morwell, the Minister has come out and promised the build will begin next month.
“We know the Allan Labor Government is good at making promises but even better at breaking them, so the pressure is now on the Minister for Housing to finally keep her word.”
Caption: The Nationals’ Martin Cameron and Melina Bath the vacant English Street lot where the Commonwealth Games Athletes’ Village was meant to be built and repurposed into social and affordable housing.
Media contact: Kate Withers | 0423 771 310 | kate.withers@parliament.vic.gov.au
