Ms TIERNEY (Western Victoria) — My question is also for the Minister for Planning. As the minister knows, Wyndham is one of the fastest growing municipalities in the country, let alone this state. It is also a municipality that has big plans for the Werribee employment precinct and has an obvious need to understand the new government’s views about that precinct and other matters. Given the minister’s boast that he will meet with any stakeholders who want to meet with him, and given that the Wyndham City Council has been seeking a meeting since mid-December, why has he refused to meet with the City of Wyndham until the middle of April?
Hon. M. J. GUY (Minister for Planning) — I thank the member for her Dorothy Dixer. It is quite interesting that you asked this question; I have a meeting scheduled with the City of Wyndham in about two weeks time.
Supplementary Question
Ms TIERNEY (Western Victoria) — I ask the minister: is it because Melbourne’s west is not a priority for him that it took him so long to organise that meeting?
Hon. M. J. GUY (Minister for Planning) — Some questions are easier than others. If Ms Tierney wants to know about priorities for Melbourne’s west, she should ask Mr Elsbury and Mr Finn, two Liberal members who live in Melbourne’s west. She should go and ask Mr Pakula, who is a member for the Western Metropolitan Region and who lives in the southern suburbs, or Mr Robert Smith, who was the Labor candidate for Western Metropolitan Region at the last election and who lives somewhere near Frankston. She should go and ask Frank McGuire, the member for Broadmeadows in the Assembly, who lives in Brighton.
If Ms Tierney wants to get up in here and talk about treating the west with contempt, she needs to look in the biggest mirror possible, a mirror that takes in all the Labor Party members, and ask: how long did John Brumby, the previous Premier and member for Broadmeadows in the Assembly, live in Brighton whilst holding the seat of Broadmeadows? How long did John Brumby live in Broadmeadows? Never! How long has Rob Hulls, the member for Niddrie in the Assembly, lived in Niddrie? Never! How long do most Labor members in the west live in their electorates? Never!