MP calls for airport link

A LOCAL MP is backing a community push for public transport links from Geelong’s northern suburbs to Avalon Airport and its surrounding employment precinct.

Lara MP Ella George has launched a petition to gauge local support for bus connections between Lara train station and both the airport terminal and the growing employment precinct.

“With thousands working in the precinct at major distribution centres, and hundreds using the airport every day, we need public transport to Avalon,” Ms George said.

“I think that buses are the best solution as they can be delivered quickly and utilise the existing road infrastructure.

“I’m fighting hard to secure bus services, but I can’t do it alone — that’s why I’ve asked local residents to add their voice and sign my petition.”

There is presently no bus service from Geelong’s northern suburbs to the Avalon precinct, despite being less than a 15-minute drive from nearby Corio and Norlane, and only eight minutes by car from the closest train station in Lara.

For residents attempting to make the trip by public transport, however, travel times quickly swell to two hours or more.

To reach the precinct from Lara train station, commuters must hop on a Melbourne-bound train, travelling past Avalon to Wyndham Vale, take a bus to Werribee Station, then catch a Skybus shuttle back to Avalon Airport.

Ms George said the lack of public transport connections was forcing people who do not have their own car to ask for a lift or take a taxi or rideshare service.

“I don’t think that’s fair,” she said.

“There are many employment opportunities at the major distribution centres, but a lack of public transport is a barrier for some jobseekers.

“Affordable, reliable public transport supports jobseekers to find work, and I think it’s important that the state government does what it can to support people who are looking for work and help reduce any barriers to employment.”

Earlier this year, Real Deal Geelong launched its own campaign calling for transport links to the precinct, citing high rates of unemployment in the northern suburbs.

Real Deal Geelong community organiser Sally Fisher described it as an “equity issue” locking some of the region’s most vulnerable people out of the workforce.

A bus network review, announced as part of this year’s state budget, is expected to investigate what is and isn’t working with the network’s existing services, including around the Avalon area.

To sign Ms George’s petition, head to forms.gle/4Y6ipcHGhwV295NF9