The wait finally came to an end this week. Jacinta Allan became the first Victorian premier to visit Warrnambool on official business since July 21, 2017. More than 2500 days after Daniel Andrews stood on Warrnambool's train platform and pledged we would have new rolling stock within 12 to 18 months, Ms Allan made a whistle stop tour to the region and the city.
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To say it was long overdue is an understatement.
Readers know we have campaigned for months for the state's premier to visit the region, which has been regularly overlooked for key investment and support.
Ms Allan's visit, while greatly appreciated, failed to deliver what we as a region craved - answers and funding.
The premier officially visited a wind farm at Mortlake South that is the final project to be built as part of the Labor government's first Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET) reverse auction, having created 100 jobs. She said the wind turbines would be fully online before the end of the year and generate enough energy for 115,000 homes.
She then travelled the bumpy and dilapidated Hopkins Highway into Warrnambool for a quick visit to the base hospital talking up a state program that had helped support new mothers and babies.
Predictably Ms Allan had a number of questions thrown at her, including the state of the road she had just travelled. She didn't comment on the state of our roads.
She was asked about the $384 million hospital redevelopment and whether an underground car park included in original plans, which we have reported is now likely to be axed, would go ahead. She deferred to Warrnambool Base Hospital chief executive officer Craig Fraser. Asked if she would rule out the region's hospitals and health services being forced to merge with Geelong's Barwon Health, she provided a response that failed to answer the question. As we have reported, our region has genuine concerns about the government's review of health services and apart from assuring us none would be forced to close, we are none the wiser.
As we have suggested, our region is worthy of its standing and Warrnambool's South West Healthcare should be a hub for all hospitals and health services west of the Surf Coast.
Questions were also cut short by the premier's minders.
The reality is Ms Allan's responses lacked substance, in fact, the whole visit did. Just a week after a group of more than 60 south-west business and community leaders went to Spring Street to talk up the region and call for a fairer share of funding, Warrnambool, Moyne and Corangamite councils were not even told of the premier's visit, let alone invited to the announcements. The disrespect can only be viewed as arrogance. This government has lost touch with the community. This visit was all style and no substance. Yet again, we deserve better.
