LABOR has promised $6 million to solve decades of intensifying land shortages throughout Bendigo.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The party has thrown its weight behind planning for Marong's future Bendigo Regional Employment District.
The 280 hectare site needs cash from whoever next forms government for infrastructure like electricity, gas, wastewater, drainage and road services.
It is big enough to fit an estimated 3000 workers.
That would be a win for manufacturers and the City of Greater Bendigo, which have failed over the past 20 years to find any site - most notably when the council lost an attempt in 2018 to compulsorily acquire another Marong site.
A landholder has since voluntarily sold the council farmland that needs millions of dollars in upgrades to be prepared for factories.
Manufacturers in race against time
That cannot come fast enough for many Bendigo manufacturers including Australian Turntables' chairman Paul Chapman.
His company has long thought about moving operations away from a site that is too small to meet demand.
"We think about it all the time. We have to," Mr Chapman said.
"Don't forget that Australia is on the cusp of reinvigorating its manufacturing community by being a sovereign manufacturer.
"We learnt from the past two years, from the troubles we've had when we cannot get supplies anywhere.
"We can do this ourselves. We've got the smarts, the educational skills and the people."
Shortages drag on Bendigo economy
Labor candidate for Bendigo West Maree Edwards said industrial land shortages were "quite critical".
"Bendigo's industrial land is almost at capacity," she said.
Manufacturing is the city's biggest sector and shortages drag on economic growth by forcing businesses to do at least some of their projects elsewhere.
One East Bendigo company has recently gone as far as to warn it may need to move all its operations as it struggles to urgently find a big enough factory.
Dog treat maker Laila and Me has been sending overflow of freeze dried pet food out of town to other companies to help process.
"We've done it for 18 months but it's not sustainable long term, at all," managing director Mel Devereaux recently said.
Cash to flow by mid-2023
Ms Edwards said said Labor's share would be ready by budget time in May, should it win government.
"The City of Greater Bendigo would have access to those funds to get work underway by the middle of next year," she said.
Deputy Bendigo mayor Jen Alden said Labor's promise was fantastic and would help the municipality compete against other areas developing their own business parks.
"Our location in the centre of the state also positions us so well, and we've got the airport," she said.
"That's a significant advantage and we need to make the most of that."
The Coalition was contacted for comment.
Note at 12.30pm: This story has gradually been updated since its original publication with additional comments from Maree Edwards along with those of Jen Alden and Mel Devereaux, along with extra information on Bendigo's manufacturing sector.
Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with the Bendigo Advertiser app. Click here to download.
Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
