Premier Daniel Andrews is finally making his debut in Warrnambool.
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His office confirmed he would make a visit to Warrnambool and Port Fairy in “the coming weeks” and information obtained by The Standard suggested he would be here at the end of next week.
Since his election in November 2014, Mr Andrews has not made a public appearance in Warrnambool – which has a population exceeding 30,000 people – despite promising to govern for all Victorians.
At the South West Coast by-election in 2015, Labor did not run a candidate in the safe Liberal seat.
Despite Mr Andrews making multiple visits to some of its neighbours, he had not made a public appearance in Warrnambool as premier.
It is believed that since his election at the end of 2014, the premier had visited Bendigo at least 11 times, and Ballarat at least eight times.
The premier had also made frequent visits to other parts of the state, including Morwell, the home of the Hazelwood Power Station that closed earlier this year.
The closest he came to Warrnambool was when he announced a wind farm project at Dundonnell a year ago.
In January, Mr Andrews visited Portland with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to announce a state and federal government deal to save its aluminium smelter.
In August 2015, the premier announced his government’s renewable energy policy at Portland wind tower manufacturer Keppel Prince and in December 2015 he visited Colac.
Mr Andrews had also made two visits to the Budj Bim landscape in relation to its bid for world heritage listing – first in August 2015 – and in January, when he was also announcing the deal to save Alcoa’s Portland smelter.
But he was yet to make it to the south-west’s regional city.
A spokesman for Mr Andrews’ office said alongside a Warrnambool visit, a visit to Port Fairy would be related to health.
The spokesman said the premier was looking forward to speaking with members of the community.
“The premier will be addressing a range of things, including health,” the spokesman said.
“He is also keen to talk about rail upgrades, which we know is a big issue for the area.”