Media Releases

November 30, 2011


Federal Labor has rejected the former Labor State Government’s plans for the future use of Bendigo’s historic Fortuna Villa, The Nationals representative for Northern Victoria Region Damian Drum said today.

Mr Drum said it was disappointing Julia Gillard had decided she would not support the project.

“A letter from Federal Labor Special Minister of State, Gary Gray to Regional and Rural Development Minister left no doubt that even former Premier Brumby’s Labor mates in Canberra thought his idea would not work,” Mr Drum said.

“Just days before the 2010 State election, John Brumby came to Bendigo claiming to be the saviour of Fortuna and promising $7 million but it was a con.

“He did not make too much noise about how his plan required the Bendigo taxpayers to fork out another $3 million …and a further $13 million from the Federal Government. He made little mention about the fact that his own ‘back-of-the-beer-coaster business case showed that under his scheme, Fortuna would go on costing about $500,000 a year for who knows how long.

“Gary Gray’s letter simply says the Federal Government is not at all interested in that scheme.”

Mr Drum said the facts of the situation were:
• Fortuna Villa is a Commonwealth Government owned property. The Commonwealth has occupied the property since the 1940s.
• Prior to the November 2010 elections the previous Labor state government put a proposal to the Commonwealth regarding the future of Fortuna Villa.
• The Labor party went to the electorate proposing to “save” Fortuna Villa knowing that the Commonwealth had not accepted the State’s offer. Furthermore they should have known that the State’s highly conditional proposal was unlikely to be acceptable to the Commonwealth. In short Labor misled the people of Bendigo.
• The incoming State Government sought clarification from the Commonwealth as to its attitude to the previous Government’s offer. On 23 August the Commonwealth advised the State that the previous Labor Government’s proposal was not acceptable to it.

Mr Drum said he was gob-smacked that the Federal Labor MP for Bendigo, Steve Gibbons, was trying to spin the Gray letter into an anti-Coalition issue.

“Fortuna Villa has been commonwealth property for 60 years. John Brumby’s shambolic pre-election plan to put Fortuna in public hands was 100 per cent reliant on the Federal Government accepting the plan. It has not.”

Mr Drum said the Federal Government had walked away from the issue and Mr Gibbons now seemed to be expecting the Coalition State Government to re-apply for a project which had already been rejected.

“Make no mistake: this is a Commonwealth issue. The Commonwealth has to make up its mind what it wants to do with its own asset.”