Geelong workers quitting their jobs over a lack of public transport to Avalon Airport precinct

Jarrod Stagg lives 13 kilometres from work — but his commute usually takes more than an hour.

When his car broke down, he faced a five-hour round trip on public transport or $100 in taxi fares each day to get to work from his home in the northern suburbs of Geelong.

The Corio local works at a warehouse within Avalon Airport’s new employment precinct, which employs about 2,000 people and is adjacent to the airport.

Mr Stagg said the loss of his car has opened his eyes to the difficulty in reaching the site.

“There’s nothing that goes out to Avalon where we’re supposed to be attracting thousands of people, and have thousands of people [working] already,” he said.

If Mr Stagg did not use a taxi for part of his journey and instead relied solely on public transport, he would need to travel past Avalon all the way into Melbourne by taking a bus to North Shore station, a V/Line train to Wyndham Vale station, a bus to Werribee station, followed by a Skybus airport shuttle to the airport.

Instead, he chooses to cut the 2.5-hour trip in half by taking a bus to North Shore Station, a train to Lara station, and a taxi to his job site warehouse.

The journey costs him about $60 per day, which Mr Stagg said could be better spent on fixing his car.

“Some [other employees] have left because of the issue, some actually got a job there but were not able to take it because they don’t drive,” Mr Stagg said.

Reducing disadvantage in Geelong’s north

Avalon Airport’s precinct has already welcomed several businesses, including Cotton On and Australia Post, with the hub projected to employ 10,000 people by 2040.

The Victorian Government was also working on a plan to provide commercial and industrial opportunities through its Greater Avalon Employment Precinct nearby.

The district was meant to provide jobs in a location convenient to those living in Geelong’s northern suburbs and Melbourne’s west, but a lack of transport infrastructure was proving to be a barrier.

Norlane, north of Geelong, has the highest unemployment rate in Victoria at 19.5 per cent.

Corio is also well above the Greater Geelong region’s unemployment rate of 4.5 per cent, at 11.5 per cent.

Avalon Airport offers payment

Avalon Airport’s CEO Ari Suss said implementing more public transport was critical and the airport would be willing to pay a portion of the costs.

He said a rail link was the future goal but, for now, a bus service from Lara station to the airport was a necessity.

“Industry is prepared to come here and set up facilities. We’re obviously investing in constructing those facilities for them but the critical issue here is, how do we draw on a workforce?” Mr Suss said.

“We’re prepared to make a contribution, at least to get a trial underway.

“We believe that there’s more than enough demand to make that work and to make that succeed.”

More investment into a growing region

Greater Geelong is one of the fastest growing regions in Australia, with the population forecast to reach nearly 450,000 by 2046.

To avoid a 491 per cent increase in road congestion around Geelong by 2041 there needs to be significant investment into active and public transport, according to advocacy group G21 Geelong Region Alliance.

Committee for Geelong CEO Michael Johnston said it was the more “vulnerable” members of the community living in Geelong’s northern suburbs who were being forced to turn down these jobs.

“Not everyone has access to a car,” Mr Johnston said.

“If you don’t have public transport you’re effectively shutting that off as an employment option for those people.”

The committee worked with G21 to put together their top priorities for the region in the next Federal election.

The Avalon employment precinct was in their top three — calling on the government to fund transport links to boost productivity and cultivate economic opportunities for Victoria.

G21 CEO Giulia Baggio said the precinct was a chance to “kick start” the northern suburbs and address the disadvantage there.

“When the Ford factory shut, those unemployment figures really shot up and we’ve never been able to get to grips with getting people back into full, proper, high-quality jobs since that time,” she said.

Transport an afterthought, expert says

But some urban planners employment precincts across regional Victoria are struggling to attract workers as they are usually planned in isolation, without adequate transport strategies.

RMIT University’s emeritus professor in environment and planning Michael Buxton said retaining and recruiting staff required more than just growing and relocating industries.

“Governments can declare precincts but unless you provide the infrastructure and look at regional planning in a much more integrated way, then precincts such as Avalon cannot work,” he said.

“If we just keep on pushing people out into car-dependent suburbs, we’re really reinforcing the current problems.”

A Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said investigations continued into ways to improve bus links between the rail network and destinations such as Avalon Airport.

Editorial Comment

The Department of Transport are now a joke and should be removed and fresh faces and people with a vision and a responsible approach to transport planning installed into the department. It is clear to all IT IS NOT WORKING AT ALL and we have not getting projects needed delivered.

Where is the rail line to Avalon Airport talked about and some planning done over the past decade? Extend the rail to the Airport and also to the massive industrial Hub being created at the location so workers and freight can be serviced at these locations in Avalon. We have wasted $40b on the North East Link, a connection to the Avalon area should be no more than $50m a drop in the bucket and ensure trains can connection from both Geelong and Melbourne.

It is beyond embarrassing the failures of the Department of Transport and Planning.

ABC News