By MELISSA MEEHAN
FUNDING provided by the State Government to the Yarra Ranges Council to find a tenant for the empty Swinburne site has been suspended thanks to what Evelyn MP Christine Fyffe has described as a political power play.
Ms Fyffe said she had steam coming out of her ears when she heard that Eastern Metropolitan MP Shaun Leane had raised concerns about the recent grant given to the council – claiming a conflict of interest was present.
The funding was to be used to explore tertiary education options for the former Swinburne University site at Lilydale.
Due to his concerns, the Ombudsman’s office has suspended the funding agreement until the actual or perceived conflict of interest was addressed.
It is believed that Mr Leane raised a number of issues with the Ombudsman, the most serious being that the Yarra Ranges Council, the custodian of the funding, had a conflict of interest considering their interest to use the site for council offices rather than educational purposes.
The suspension of the funding leaves the contractor David Ensor without work on the project.
“What this means is that Shaun Leane has as a result of his purely political actions put a stop to the work that was being done by Barbara Van Ernst and the rest of the committee to achieve a positive outcome for the Lilydale Swinburn site,” Ms Fyffe said.
“There is no interest from a single provider to take over the site and provide further education and the committee were working with a group of partners to provide a viable range of courses for the residents of the Yarra Ranges.
“What this means is that this selfish, and purely political stunt has squashed any chance of the campus reopening next year.”
Do you think the council has a conflict of interest? Were you planning on enrolling at the site next year? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Email editorial@yvnews.com.au
