A proposal to build a compound for "high risk" detainees at the Broadmeadows immigration detention centre is "fundamentally flawed and inappropriate", the region's MP says.
Broadmeadows MP Frank McGuire says the $29 million upgrade, which would involve 140 new beds being built in a high-security unit for detainees whose visas have been cancelled due to criminal convictions, would mean the centre would house "convicted pedophiles, drug traffickers and members of outlaw bikie gangs".
Mr McGuire said in a statement the upgrade failed the federal government's plan to use land for its "highest and best use", and said instead the money should be used to deliver jobs and growth where they are most needed.
"Imposing a jail for people convicted of heinous crimes on this landmark site without consulting the community, the local council or its parliamentary representatives is outrageous and arrogant in the extreme," he says.
"The Turnbull government is using Broadmeadows as a dumping ground so it can sell its Maribyrnong detention centre."
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