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Act Now Consult Later - Labor True To Form On Market Move

The Bracks Government has failed to adequately consult with stakeholders and investigate alternate options to its plans to relocate the Melbourne Markets, Shadow Minister for Agriculture Philip Davis said today.

By Philp Davis - 21st April 2005 - Back to News

Mr Davis and other Liberal MPs visited the Melbourne Markets early yesterday, meeting with market operators to discuss their concerns about the proposed relocation from the Footscray Road site they have occupied for the past 36 years.

Mr Davis told Parliament that the Bracks Government had a responsibility to adequately explore all the options available before uprooting 2700 businesses and dumping them further out of the city.

He said despite Labor’s claims, there was sufficient room for future development at the current Footscray Road site which has not been investigated by the Bracks Government.

"The position of the stakeholders at the market is that they will only move with a gun to their heads; and in the event that the government pulls the trigger they have made it clear there is only one option for them, and that is to go north to Epping," Mr Davis said.

"May I say in relation to our investigations (during the market visit) that we found that less than 80 per cent of available tenancies are utilised and that the market authority is due to take vacant possession of additional adjacent land this month and there is therefore scope for further development on the site."

In Parliament yesterday, Mr Davis took the Minister for Major Projects, John Lenders, to task on why the Bracks Government had not explored options for keeping the markets at its current site.

"Will the Minister explain why he persists in asserting that there is no scope for future development at that site, which is contrary to the view of all the stakeholder committees at the Melbourne Markets at this time?" Mr Davis asked the Minister.

The Minister did not answer the question.

Mr Davis said one of the strongest criticisms of the Bracks Government was that it failed time and time again to adequately consult with stakeholders and look at practical options before making decisions.

"The Bracks Government is renowned for its ‘decide now, consult later’ approach – it happened with the toxic waste dumps and it’s happening again with the market relocation," he said.

"Labor should take the Liberal Party’s lead and actually visit the market in full operation at 5am one morning, get out there and actually speak to the people at the grass roots of this issue.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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