Speaking on 3AW Radio on Friday morning, Mr Pallas said the state government was still in talks about the location of the site.“We prefer Mickleham (but) the Commonwealth have made it clear that their preference is Avalon,” he said.“That’s a discussion we’re having with the Commonwealth.“We’re trying to work through that. We’re trying to work through whether or not this is in substitution or replacement of our existing effort.”It comes just days after Linfox Airports chair David Fox revealed a purpose-built quarantine facility could be built within six months if given the green light.He said the company was ready to build a Victorian hub quickly and that politics had delayed the process.“To build a straight up quarantine facility within six months would be an absolute piece of cake,” he said.Avalon is the state government’s second choice for a new facility to move returned travellers away from CBD hotels.Meanwhile, Mr Pallas said the state government was ready and waiting to build a mRNA facility in Melbourne.When established, it would be the first mRNA production site in the southern hemisphere.“We’ve put $50m aside to scope it … we’ll put more money in to deliver it,” he said.Mr Pallas said the facility could be up and running in about 12 months.Federal Defence Minister Peter Dutton initially slammed the idea for a Victorian quarantine hub but Prime Minister Scott Morrison welcomed the proposal and a decision is expected in coming weeks.On Tuesday morning, Mr Fox said people were waiting for a solution and Linfox was ready to put its hand up.“To build a straight up quarantine facility within six months would be an absolute piece of cake,” he said.“The thought where we’ve been going down is to try and identify what else we need to help us assist the economy.“I’ve spoken to a lot of sports organisations, whether it be tennis, the golf, theatre or the music industry.Mr Fox told the radio station that the company had experience housing firefighters during the bushfire season and could build a “super quarantine facility” that catered to these needs.This could include driving ranges for professional golfers and cricket pitches for players to train. “If we had the tick off now it would start tomorrow,” he said.“It’s extremely frustrating. “We’re supportive of the state government. They’ve identified a location being Mickleham.“I’m not sure whether the locals were overly thrilled with a quarantine facility being built in metro Melbourne next door to the dogs and cats that are brought in.”Mr Fox said there was still a funding issue with the Mickleham site and that he would “happily approach the family” about funding portions of their quarantine site themselves.He said the Avalon site could be “significantly lower” than the $700 million estimated for Mickleham.“As a private company we can start on this tomorrow with the support of the state government,” he said.When asked if Linfox was paying a price because the Fox family was seen as being too close to Premier Daniel Andrews, Mr Fox said the company was not benefiting from these ties.“It’s a perceived political problem,” he said.“The long and short of it is we’re entitled to have our friends.“We don’t need to take advantage of any politician because we’re an Australian family. We love this country and all we want to do is help support making it a better place.“If some people want to make accusations and assumptions in regards to the Fox family benefiting from government, you can’t pinpoint it to the state government because we are friends with both Liberal and Labor parties across the country“The long and short of it is we create solutions.”Mr Fox said these perceptions had also meant limited talks with the state government.“The Mickleham program is frustrating,” he said.“Through probity issues, communications with governments have not been occurring as regularly as we would like them to.“People make assumptions that we’re gaining benefits through friends within the government.“That is so not the case. Further from the truth.“We’ve got nothing to hide.”Acting Premier James Merlino maintains there is “no bickering” between state and federal officials over Victoria’s proposed alternate quarantine facility.Mr Merlino said the state government was still hopeful the Mickleham site would receive the backing of the Commonwealth government.He said there was “constant” and “constructive” communication between both levels of government on the matter.“I’ve had a conversation with the PM, of course. We’re doing all of that. The comments from the Prime Minister have been very, very positive. He acknowledges that this is a comprehensive proposal,” Mr Merlino said.“We need to have an alternative to hotel quarantine, we need to have a successful rollout of the Commonwealth’s vaccine program, and then we can have the easing of restrictions that everyone is talking about.“We need that green light from the Commonwealth to get this facility built as quickly as possible. Once we have that, then it’s full steam ahead.”When asked how long was appropriate to wait for an answer from the Federal government, Mr Merlino said: “We needed to move on this 12 months ago. The next best time to move on this is right now. We’re keen on an answer.”The state government has made it very clear they want the facility built at Melbourne’s north rather than at Avalon Airport.“The preferred site in terms of the independent examination is Mickleham. The alternate site is Avalon. Both are good sites,” Mr Merlino said.
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