I am delighted to rise in the chamber today to speak to the Transport Legislation Amendment Bill 2019—all 259 glorious pages of legislation that the Labor government wishes to introduce into this chamber and make law in this state.
The first question that I ask is: what is the benefit for my community? What is the benefit of these 259 pages of legislation that the Labor government proposes for the 46 000 residents of the Sandringham district?
How will it improve our transport services?
How will it improve our road services?
Will it put additional buses that connect with trains, making them available for members of my community?
How will it make members of my community’s trips home a more efficient experience or otherwise?
Frankly, from what I have heard today and from my understanding of this bill, this is simply a shuffling of the deckchairs.
There is nothing in it for commuters, freight timetabling or punctuality. It is all about department reshuffling, and all 259 glorious pages of that.
In my view at its heart the role of state government is service delivery: transport services, education services, police and emergency services, health and hospital services. So what we are speaking about today—we are speaking about transport services and the state’s capacity to provide decent roads for commuters—is really at the heart of state government. That said, I do note that the coalition will not be opposing this bill, but it is still incumbent upon us to ask the government, to inquire of the government, how they are able to demonstrate how this bill, how this proposed legislation, this new law which they propose, is likely to improve the strategic vision which underpins transport in this state: the quality of transport service output, efficiency dividends and functionality dividends within the departments and offices to be merged.
When I look at this bill, I have some serious questions, which I would like to raise in the chamber today.
On the dawn of the 2018 state election the Labor government proposed a Suburban Rail Loop—a Suburban Rail Loop starting in Cheltenham.
Cheltenham is a wonderful part of the Sandringham district community—it is a wonderful part of our community—and the Labor governments at this point in time have not been able to pinpoint precisely where the start of the Suburban Rail Loop will begin, where it will commence.
The level crossing removal works are being undertaken at Cheltenham at the moment, at the intersection of Charman Road and Park Road. These works are important works, and everyone within our community, within my community, wishes for these works to be done. But with these major projects comes a toll on the community, a toll on local businesses in and around Charman and Station roads and on local commuters specifically in the Pennydale area in Cheltenham. That said— and we all recognise that these works will take time—by not identifying precisely where the Suburban Rail Loop will start in Cheltenham this government is in fact saying to my community that they are in for another amount of time of disruptions; that businesses within Cheltenham within my community are up for another period of time of uncertainty whilst this Suburban Rail Loop is constructed.
If this project is so important, why not be fair dinkum, why not be straight up with the Cheltenham community and identify now where the Suburban Rail Loop within Cheltenham will commence? Whilst major works are being undertaken within Cheltenham—at the Cheltenham station, removing the two level crossings there—perhaps there is work that can be done to lay the foundations for the start of the Suburban Rail Loop, and therefore avoiding potential time, cost and other burdens upon not only local small businesses but residents within my community.
How does this 259 pages of legislation assist with graffiti removal along the Sandringham railway line?
How does this beautify the amenity of the Sandringham railway line—the government to this point in time has refused to remove graffiti that abuts private fences along that Sandringham railway corridor? They are saying, ‘It’s not our responsibility’. They are saying it is the responsibility of private landowners to remove graffiti abutting their property when it is adjacent to the Sandringham railway corridor. But the fact of the matter is that these private residences cannot access the train line to remove the graffiti They want it gone, they want it gone now, but they are not able to access it.So with the state government saying it is the responsibility of the landowner and with the landowner not being able to access the railway corridor to remove this graffiti, the graffiti stays, and it is an eyesore on our community.
How does this 259 pages of legislation assist with the beautification of the recently installed power substation at the Sandringham railway station? It is currently, frankly, an eyesore: a brown, orangey-type building from the outside housing, no doubt, very important infrastructure. The beautification of that would be wonderfully received by local residents living across the road from that power substation.
How does this 259 pages of legislation improve the frequency of 822 bus services from Sandringham station going up Bay Road, and how does this legislation improve the connectivity between that bus service and the Sandringham train services that my residents, the residents within the Sandringham district, use on a daily basis? How does this piece of legislation assist the Mentone traders, who themselves are also being subject to level crossing removal works now? Once again, we agree that the level crossing removal at Balcombe Road should take place, and we welcome that: it is a very important piece of infrastructure work that needs to be done. But picking up Mentone station and moving it 150 metres down the railway line opposite Kilbreda College permanently displaces the business activity centre of the Mentone district, and this will have a lasting impact on traders in that area.
I am delighted to rise in the chamber today to speak to the Transport Legislation Amendment Bill 2019—all 259 glorious pages of legislation that the Labor government wishes to introduce into this chamber and make law in this state.
The first question that I ask is: what is the benefit for my community? What is the benefit of these 259 pages of legislation that the Labor government proposes for the 46 000 residents of the Sandringham district?
How will it improve our transport services?
How will it improve our road services?
Will it put additional buses that connect with trains, making them available for members of my community?
How will it make members of my community’s trips home a more efficient experience or otherwise?
Frankly, from what I have heard today and from my understanding of this bill, this is simply a shuffling of the deckchairs.
There is nothing in it for commuters, freight timetabling or punctuality. It is all about department reshuffling, and all 259 glorious pages of that.
In my view at its heart the role of state government is service delivery: transport services, education services, police and emergency services, health and hospital services. So what we are speaking about today—we are speaking about transport services and the state’s capacity to provide decent roads for commuters—is really at the heart of state government. That said, I do note that the coalition will not be opposing this bill, but it is still incumbent upon us to ask the government, to inquire of the government, how they are able to demonstrate how this bill, how this proposed legislation, this new law which they propose, is likely to improve the strategic vision which underpins transport in this state: the quality of transport service output, efficiency dividends and functionality dividends within the departments and offices to be merged.
When I look at this bill, I have some serious questions, which I would like to raise in the chamber today.
On the dawn of the 2018 state election the Labor government proposed a Suburban Rail Loop—a Suburban Rail Loop starting in Cheltenham.
Cheltenham is a wonderful part of the Sandringham district community—it is a wonderful part of our community—and the Labor governments at this point in time have not been able to pinpoint precisely where the start of the Suburban Rail Loop will begin, where it will commence.
The level crossing removal works are being undertaken at Cheltenham at the moment, at the intersection of Charman Road and Park Road. These works are important works, and everyone within our community, within my community, wishes for these works to be done. But with these major projects comes a toll on the community, a toll on local businesses in and around Charman and Station roads and on local commuters specifically in the Pennydale area in Cheltenham. That said— and we all recognise that these works will take time—by not identifying precisely where the Suburban Rail Loop will start in Cheltenham this government is in fact saying to my community that they are in for another amount of time of disruptions; that businesses within Cheltenham within my community are up for another period of time of uncertainty whilst this Suburban Rail Loop is constructed.
If this project is so important, why not be fair dinkum, why not be straight up with the Cheltenham community and identify now where the Suburban Rail Loop within Cheltenham will commence? Whilst major works are being undertaken within Cheltenham—at the Cheltenham station, removing the two level crossings there—perhaps there is work that can be done to lay the foundations for the start of the Suburban Rail Loop, and therefore avoiding potential time, cost and other burdens upon not only local small businesses but residents within my community.
How does this 259 pages of legislation assist with graffiti removal along the Sandringham railway line?
How does this beautify the amenity of the Sandringham railway line—the government to this point in time has refused to remove graffiti that abuts private fences along that Sandringham railway corridor? They are saying, ‘It’s not our responsibility’. They are saying it is the responsibility of private landowners to remove graffiti abutting their property when it is adjacent to the Sandringham railway corridor. But the fact of the matter is that these private residences cannot access the train line to remove the graffiti They want it gone, they want it gone now, but they are not able to access it.So with the state government saying it is the responsibility of the landowner and with the landowner not being able to access the railway corridor to remove this graffiti, the graffiti stays, and it is an eyesore on our community.
How does this 259 pages of legislation assist with the beautification of the recently installed power substation at the Sandringham railway station? It is currently, frankly, an eyesore: a brown, orangey-type building from the outside housing, no doubt, very important infrastructure. The beautification of that would be wonderfully received by local residents living across the road from that power substation.
How does this 259 pages of legislation improve the frequency of 822 bus services from Sandringham station going up Bay Road, and how does this legislation improve the connectivity between that bus service and the Sandringham train services that my residents, the residents within the Sandringham district, use on a daily basis? How does this piece of legislation assist the Mentone traders, who themselves are also being subject to level crossing removal works now? Once again, we agree that the level crossing removal at Balcombe Road should take place, and we welcome that: it is a very important piece of infrastructure work that needs to be done. But picking up Mentone station and moving it 150 metres down the railway line opposite Kilbreda College permanently displaces the business activity centre of the Mentone district, and this will have a lasting impact on traders in that area.
The traders in Mentone are simply asking for three things: they are asking for better connectivity between the old station and the new station; they are asking for additional car parks—a recent estimate suggests that there will be some 150 less car parks available within the Mentone precinct after these level crossing removals have taken place; and they are also asking for the roundabout at the intersection of Balcombe Road and Mentone Parade to be retained. How does this bill help those Mentone traders who have three very, very simple asks?
How does this bill help the 1st/3rd Cheltenham Scout Group, who were promised by the Level Crossing Removal Authority a new scout hall? How does this bill help to preserve the historic Cheltenham station, the only remaining Cheltenham-style station in the state of Victoria, built in 1881
How does this bill help residents of Beach Road in and around Mentone going through to Mordialloc, who are subjected to Beach Road being narrowed at the moment because of the bloody-mindedness, frankly, of a number of Kingston councillors, together with officers of VicRoads, in implementing a plan that is bad for our community? That stretch of road at the very best of times is busy, and by narrowing that stretch of road we will only see potentially more accidents in this space. In the time that I have left I simply want to make this point.
As I have articulated in this contribution, the first test of this bill for me as a local member is to see how it will benefit my community. It is simply a shuffling of the deckchairs, and I contend that, although we will not be opposing this bill, the actual impact of this bill on my community will be nil at best.
The question that I leave you with is this: what benefit will this merger really bring Victorians?
The traders in Mentone are simply asking for three things: they are asking for better connectivity between the old station and the new station; they are asking for additional car parks—a recent estimate suggests that there will be some 150 less car parks available within the Mentone precinct after these level crossing removals have taken place; and they are also asking for the roundabout at the intersection of Balcombe Road and Mentone Parade to be retained. How does this bill help those Mentone traders who have three very, very simple asks?
How does this bill help the 1st/3rd Cheltenham Scout Group, who were promised by the Level Crossing Removal Authority a new scout hall? How does this bill help to preserve the historic Cheltenham station, the only remaining Cheltenham-style station in the state of Victoria, built in 1881
How does this bill help residents of Beach Road in and around Mentone going through to Mordialloc, who are subjected to Beach Road being narrowed at the moment because of the bloody-mindedness, frankly, of a number of Kingston councillors, together with officers of VicRoads, in implementing a plan that is bad for our community? That stretch of road at the very best of times is busy, and by narrowing that stretch of road we will only see potentially more accidents in this space. In the time that I have left I simply want to make this point.
As I have articulated in this contribution, the first test of this bill for me as a local member is to see how it will benefit my community. It is simply a shuffling of the deckchairs, and I contend that, although we will not be opposing this bill, the actual impact of this bill on my community will be nil at best.
The question that I leave you with is this: what benefit will this merger really bring Victorians?
