Bureaucracy Stalling Ballarat's Airport Upgrade
The Victorian Government has been urged to get its bureaucracy out of the way of Ballarat’s vital airport development.
Last month, Member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur, met the City of Ballarat and toured the airport with airport users, including Gekko Technical Director, Sandy Gray.
The businesses were anxious a decision to proceed with an extension of the runway was going to be reversed by Ballarat councillors, an outcome now avoided.
However, it can’t proceed until a new road leading into the airport, Liberator Drive, is also extended, replacing the current access road which splits the runway in two.
Mrs McArthur said the City of Ballarat and airport users agree a $2 million road upgrade is sufficient.
She said it now requires the Victorian Government to do its bit.
“It has been brought to my attention that Liberator Drive has reached an impasse, with Development Victoria sitting on $2 million of funding for the establishment of a basic connection,” Mrs McArthur said.
“The businesses impacted are not asking for a gold paved road.
“They just need a bare bones connection in order to unlock these projects and provide businesses with certainty.”
Development Victoria oversees the land at Ballarat West Employment Zone, BWEZ, where the airport is based.
To date it has failed to prioritise the matter, potentially preferencing a $15 million solution.
Mrs McArthur said the Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Jacinta Allan, needs to step up, and asked her to do so in the Victorian Parliament.
“Minister, will you ensure that Development Victoria unlocks this funding so that this vital project may proceed?”
Mrs McArthur has argued that the project is urgent and can’t wait for an election year headline by state Labor MPs given the Federal funding is current and needs to be used.
08 August 2021