Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has a “clear and thorough understanding” of Geelong’s priority projects after meeting a delegation in Canberra, according to its leader.
Regional councils alliance body G21 said the delegation also met opposition Leader Bill Shorten and ministers during two days of briefings last week.
The group presented a united voice for the region, said G21 chief Elaine Carbines.
“Having the ability to brief our national leaders first-hand on behalf of the region is immensely important and valuable,” Ms Carbines said.
“We were not expecting to be returning with pledges but sought to advocate strongly and inform on what matters most to us.”
The talks with Mr Turnbull focused Great Ocean Road investment, planning for Geelong’s convention centre and Avalon Airport, Ms Carbines said.
“If our parliamentarians are to make the best decisions for our region and its future we need them to have as clear and thorough understanding of our agreed priorities, skills and challenges as possible.”
Last Friday G21, Deakin University and City Hall launched a $2 billion Geelong Economic Futures blueprint, laying out projects they wanted to attract private investment for, including:
* a $1 billion Avalon Freight Precinct, to become Victoria’s largest, lowest cost seaport, road and rail terminal;
* a “high-security water solution” worth as much as $800 million to drive high-value, drought-proofed regional food production, mostly for overseas markets;
* a $300 million investment at CSIRO’s Animal Health Laboratory at Geelong to create an Asia-Pacific collaborative hub for infectious disease research and biosecurity; and
* an injection of $70 million for Deakin’s Carbon Nexus research centre to become the world’s leading non-aerospace industrial-scale carbon-fibre manufacturing plant, employing 80 people.
Earlier this year former mayor Darryn Lyons labelled Geelong’s lobby groups as a “tremendous waste of money” after G21 axed a $5 billion defence contract from its “priority projects” list.
