Tuesday, 3 May 2022

Glenroy level crossing removal

Mr McGUIRE (Broadmeadows) (19:02): (6337) My request is to the Minister for Transport Infrastructure. The action I seek is for the minister to join me for the opening of the new Glenroy railway station as the centrepiece of the $285.6 million Level Crossing Removal Project. I launched this campaign from opposition in 2014 with the late Fiona Richardson. I want to acknowledge her vision, plan, strategy and commitment to this. I remember we had a whole host of community leaders and local people holding the placards ‘Labor will remove this level crossing’. This election commitment was under Project 10 000, which concentrated on trains, roads and jobs, and is being delivered. I want to congratulate the minister for that achievement and for getting the job done and also highlight that the removal of this level crossing improves safety, cuts traffic congestion and has delivered an estimated 500 jobs in communities where they are needed most. This is how Labor in power delivers what is critical. We had the vision from opposition and then delivered when in office.

I want to congratulate the minister for this landmark project. I have regularly inspected the construction works running through the electorate of Broadmeadows. I also note that today’s budget provides funding to upgrade the forlorn Jacana station. This adds to the critical rail network for Melbourne’s north, servicing passengers with increasing population growth and the freight network for economic development under the $125 million commonwealth and Andrews governments investments designed to fast-track exports and imports from Labor’s designated capital of Melbourne’s north, the state district of Broadmeadows. This features the freight hub at Somerton running directly to the port of Melbourne. It cuts business costs, boosts economic growth and protects the environment by reducing trips by trucks on suburban roads by up to 20 000 trips annually.

Labor in power delivered an upgrade to the Broadmeadows railway station where I hosted the opening with the minister in 2021. This followed the reverse Robin Hood strategy from the one-term coalition government when the then planning minister, the member for Bulleen, cancelled the $80 million catalyst investment to unlock the value of Broadmeadows station and town centre. He redistributed the funding down the line to Frankston in an attempt to sandbank a marginal seat, which the coalition lost. This was another failure in a litany of the triumph of politics over rational decision-making.

As the chair of the Broadmeadows Revitalisation Board, I also call on Hume City Council to honour its $40 million commitment to investments in the Broadmeadows town centre. This will help leverage the private sector investment for economic and social development and new technology-driven jobs where they are needed most and will have a huge added value for economic and social development.