By CASEY NEILL
THE City of Casey is stepping up its support for the Port of Hastings in a bid to secure local jobs.
It’s calling on all political parties to prioritise the development during the final 12 weeks of the state election campaign.
The council is calling on the state opposition to abandon plans for a port near Werribee, follow the lead of Labor’s Hastings candidate Steve Hosking and throw its support behind the project.
State election advocacy spokesman councillor Sam Aziz said the Port of Hastings was critical to outer south-east Melbourne’s economic wellbeing.
“The development of the Port of Hastings will be a major generator of jobs, particularly in Melbourne’s outer south-east,” he said.
“In Casey and Cardinia alone, over 70 per cent of our residents leave our region each day for work.
“The City of Casey and shire of Cardinia have partnered to buck this trend and are working to stimulate local jobs for local people.”
Cr Aziz said a Department of Transport study showed that a port near Werribee would cost more, and that dredging would have a major impact on Port Phillip.
He asked Narre Warren North MP Luke Donnellan, Narre Warren South MP Judith Graley and Cranbourne MP Jude Perera to proactively and publicly support the Port of Hastings.
A Labor spokesman said their position was clear.
“A comprehensive and transparent cost-benefit analysis would be undertaken to test how Bay West stands up against other possible sites, including Hastings,” he said.
“A number of reports have supported locating a new port at Bay West on the basis of cost as well as for the advantages it has over Hastings.”
In July Southern Melbourne Regional Development Australia chairman John Bennie said that the $60 billion a year generated in gross regional product would increase by $1 billion if Hastings opened.
Mr Bennie said the port would also create 5700 jobs and offset damage to the automotive industry supply chain caused by car company closures.
Ports Minister David Hodgett said the Port of Melbourne would reach capacity some time in the next 10 to 15 years.
“We’re going to need a second port at a stage where it’s ready to accept containers when Port Melbourne reaches capacity,” he said.
“We don’t want to reach capacity and then think ’ooh, we better think about another port’.”
Mr Hodgett said the Port of Hastings would also cut cross-city travelling and provide access for the biggest ships in the world.
Residents who’d like to find out more about the council’s pre-election campaign can visit www.makeyourvoicecount.com.au.
