By JESSE GRAHAM
EDUCATION in the Yarra Ranges has been pushed into the spotlight for the upcoming state election, with Labor announcing it will revive Swinburne’s former Lilydale campus if elected.
However, the Coalition has dismissed the announcement as a “stunt” and accused the opposition of interfering with the plans to sell the campus.
On Tuesday 1 April opposition leader Daniel Andrews visited the former campus, where a group of residents, former students and campaigners had gathered.
Mr Andrews told the group that the campus would be guaranteed to reopen as a higher education and TAFE facility if the party was elected in November.
Mr Andrews was joined by Evelyn candidate Peter Harris and Monbulk MP James Merlino and said the ALP would do “all in its power” to reopen the site.
He said this included compulsorily acquiring the campus if it was sold off before the election.
“We will re-open Swinburne Lilydale and ensure that it is forever a centre of learning, a centre of knowledge, somewhere where kids in this local community can get those precious skills so that they get a quality start to life, and can make a contribution to their local community and to our state,” he said.
“I give fair warning to anyone thinking of buying these buildings – they are not for sale.”
Mr Harris confirmed that Swinburne University of Technology would not be the education provider if Labor were to reopen the campus.
Former Healesville resident, current Swinburne student and campaigner against the closure of the Lilydale campus Amie Watson said the announcement was a good starting point for returning education to the Yarra Valley.
She said that her experience of travelling to the city to study was difficult, and having the Lilydale campus open helped her to continue her education.
“I think having an educational facility in the Yarra Valley would be massive, in terms of employment and education,” Ms Watson said.
“I think TAFE is a good start … (but) hopefully a university provider will come in.”
Swinburne has called for expressions of interest (EOI) for the potential sale of the property with a 10 April deadline.
Swinburne’s Director of Communications Tom Hyland said the sale process for the site would be attracting interest from a range of parties, including groups wishing to deliver education at the campus.
“Current policy settings, including approvals with respect to the EOI process, remain in place until at least the next state election on 29 November 2014,” he said.
“Swinburne remains committed to the continuation of this process.
“Comments made by the Victorian opposition do not affect the process in train.”
Evelyn MP Christine Fyffe said the announcement was a media stunt that contained “no substance”, and said that no higher education provider had committed to coming to the former campus.
“Swinburne has a clear and transparent expression of interest process which is designed to identify educational providers that are serious about being located at the Lilydale campus,” she said.
“It is important that it is given the opportunity to run its course without any type of interference – it’s a shame the opposition hasn’t respected the process.”
Ms Fyffe said that, as a result of the ALP announcement, there was a risk that property speculators could take up the site, knowing that Labor would have to buy it back as an election commitment.
“I am concerned that this will shut out educational providers along the way,” she said.
Mr Hyland said that, after the expressions of interest were gathered, Swinburne would assess and evaluate the submissions before taking the next step with the site sale.
Mr Merlino said at the announcement that, in his 12 years in Parliament, no issue had been of greater significance to the outer eastern area than the closure of the Lilydale campus.
The campus officially ceased as an education provider in mid-2013 after it was announced in late 2012 that Swinburne would be closing the site.
In July last year, Higher Education and Skills Minister Peter Hall said the Coalition was committed to have vocational and higher education delivered at the former Swinburne campus.
Ms Fyffe echoed this statement and said that the aim of the current EOI process would be to identify educational groups to take up use of the site, though she said she would not speculate on the result of the process.
