Jill Hennessy MP

Altona Youth Club Calisthenics and Point Cook Football Club will be better prepared to manage a medical emergency on and off the park after receiving...

The Andrews Labor Government’s preferred route for the Melbourne Airport Rail Link will ensure Werribee passengers can get to the airport safer and sooner.

 Road work is ramping up in the western suburbs as part of the Andrews Labor Government’s Suburban Roads Upgrade, the biggest ever investment in Melbourne’s arterial road network. Key upgrades are getting underway on Leakes Road, Derrimut Road and Dunnings and Palmers Roads to slash congestion, improve access and safety and boost traffic flow for drivers from Point Cook to Tarneit. Member for Altona District Jill Hennessy today announced the start of works on a construction blitz across these three critical projects as part of the $4 billion Suburban Roads Upgrade. An extra lane is being added in each direction on Leakes Road between Derrimut Road and Fitzgerald Road and 18 intersections will be upgraded to create a more reliable east-west route and take pressure off nearby local roads. On Derrimut Road, drivers will enjoy an extra lane in each direction between Sayers Road and Dohertys Road and nine intersection upgrades to improve safety and unlock traffic flow around Tarneit. Access will be boosted for drivers using Dunnings and Palmers Roads with an extra traffic lane added in each direction between the Princes Freeway and Point Cook Road, ten intersection upgrades and a dedicated bus lane in each direction from Wallace Avenue to Dunnings Road. The three projects are part of the Western Roads Upgrade. This $1.8 billion upgrade includes further road widening, duplications and intersection upgrades to fix eight congested roads in Melbourne’s west over the next three years. Work on the Dohertys Road upgrade started in June to build a second bridge over the Princes Freeway, add an additional lane each way between Fitzgerald Road and Grieve Parade and upgrade five key intersections. Construction work is occurring behind barriers to keep these roads open while minimising impacts on commuters. Some lane closures and speed reductions may be required. Major construction on the Western Roads Upgrade projects is being undertaken in stages to keep Melbourne’s western suburbs moving. The project is expected to be completed by 2021. The Western Roads Upgrade is part of the Suburban Roads Upgrade, a $4 billion upgrade package targeting the western, northern and south-eastern suburbs to fix the roads Melburnians rely on every day. Quotes attributable to Member for Altona District Jill Hennessy MP “These necessary upgrades will drive down traffic congestion on our local roads so that people can spend less time commuting and more doing the things they enjoy.”  “More than 18,000 drivers rely on Dunnings and Palmers Roads each day, so this upgrade will boost access to and from the Princes Freeway and Werribee and into the growing areas of Point Cook and Sanctuary Lakes.”

The Andrews Labor Government will invest $2.4 million to boost access and participation in the state’s booming startup sector, with a focus on regional Victorian communities. The funding will be invested through LaunchVic and will support 15 projects across 26 local government areas in Victoria – ranging from from $50,000 to $400,000 to support startup and entrepreneurial activity in local regions. Projects include bootcamps, mentoring, meetups, hackathons, masterclasses and workshops. LaunchVic’s annual Mapping Victoria’s Startup Ecosystem survey revealed only 3 per cent of the state’s startups are based outside inner Melbourne, and are distributed across just three regional centres in Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat. This investment complements LaunchVic’s Startup Guide and Toolkit released late last year to help councils secure funding to implement programs and activities that nurture startup activity and encourage greater participation within their communities. Wyndham City Council with Hobsons Bay City Council, Maribyrnong City Business, and Moonee Valley City as a consortium will receive a grant of $270,000 to run #StartWest; a program designed to educate and encourage people in Melbourne’s west to participate in the startup ecosystem. The program includes mentoring, meetups, and capacity building masterclasses culminating with the #StartWest Festival, which will celebrate startups in Melbourne’s west and inspire potential founders For more information on funded programs visit launchvic.org.au Quote attributable to Member for Altona District Jill Hennessy “This is great news for the people of the Altona District– it will give local entrepreneurs the chance to turn their dreams into reality and boost our local economy along the way.” Quote attributable to Minister for Innovation and the Digital Economy Philip Dalidakis “Every startup has a role to play in Victoria’s future, whether they’re from Mildura or Maribyrnong, and this investment will ensure regional Victorian startups have access to the same resources as those in the city.” Quote attributable to Minister for Regional Development Jaala Pulford  "Ballarat is already establishing a great startup culture and we're excited about regional Victoria taking full advantage of its potential."  Quote attributable to LaunchVic CEO Dr Kate Cornick “LaunchVic has prioritised diversity and inclusion as part of its strategy and this funding complements previous activities by supporting entrepreneurs in outer Melbourne and our regions.”

Families in Melbourne’s west are a step closer to having an exciting new local secondary school, after a site was secured to build Point Cook South Senior Secondary School. Minister for Education James Merlino and Member for Altona Jill Hennessy today announced land at 120-122 Homestead Road in Point Cook has been acquired to enable the delivery of the new secondary school. Funding of $53 million has been allocated in the 2018-19 State Budget for the construction of Point Cook South Senior Secondary School, to open January 2020. The school will cater for 1,100 students once completed and will include a three-level vertical school building, performing arts and physical education facility and sports oval. The Andrews Labor Government is building the Education State so that every student can access a great local school and education, and has invested more than $3.8 billion to improve classrooms, upgrade facilities and build new schools across the state. This school building boom has delivered more than 1,300 school upgrades and 70 new school projects across the state, supporting more than 5,000 construction jobs for Victorians. Quotes Attributable to Minister for Education James Merlino “We’re getting on with the job of delivering an exciting new secondary school to ensure families can access a great local school as the population in Wyndham continues to grow.” “This will be an incredible local school that will provide the community the first-rate education facilities they deserve.” Quotes Attributable to Member for Altona District Jill Hennessy “We know that the best start in life begins with a quality education for kids. We’re getting this build done because our local kids deserve a world-class education that gives them the skills they need to be the best they can be.” “The Point Cook South Senior Secondary School will offer a wide breadth of curriculum that will give students the opportunities to excel at what they do best.”