We've been through a period in Australian life where many people think there's no room for faith.
- Frank Marriott
LABOR will contribute $5 million towards the Aspire Precinct at Bendigo's Sacred Heart Cathedral site if it wins the state election on November 29.
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The contribution would fund a third of the $15 million project, which includes an education centre, business hub, cafe and retail outlets.
Bendigo Labor MPs pledged the money on Tuesday, saying the development would create jobs, boost tourism and be an asset to community life.
Member for Bendigo East Jacinta Allan said the Aspire precinct would create a new civic space for Bendigo.
"It will be Australia's first interfaith centre," she said.
"This is about celebrating the many people from the many different walks of life who have made Bendigo the great city it is today."
Ms Allan said the project would create 49 construction jobs and 39 operational jobs.
Member for Bendigo West Maree Edwards said the precinct would attract tourists from across the world and would be an 'amazing beautification' of the cathedral site.
"This is something that Bendigo absolutely needs," Ms Edwards said.
Monsignor Frank Marriott of Sacred Heart Cathedral said Labor's funding commitment would enable the Aspire Cultural and Charitable Foundation to 'get the show on the road'.
"The fact that there's been a commitment shows in a sense that in the mind of that particular political party, the project is of worth and is a proper concept to be supported by a potential government," he said.
Monsignor Marriott said the Aspire precinct aimed to bring back something he believed had diminished over the years.
"We've been through a period in Australian life where many people think there's no room for faith," Monsignor Marriott said.
"We're trying to say that in another era, people worked together. It created community.
"It's time we stopped and thought again.
"I'm not saying we were perfect in Bendigo in the days past but there were enough people that invested.
"There's oodles of examples around Bendigo for us to appreciate, be it the Shamrock, the cathedral, the town hall."
Monsignor Marriott said the target audience for the Aspire precinct was the younger generation, whom he hoped would be challenged to work together, rather than causing division.
"You can dig and you can build or you can dig and leave an empty hole," he said.
"Too often in today's developments people are digging and leaving empty holes."
