Tuesday, 21 March 2023

Mornington Peninsula Freeway

Sam GROTH (Nepean) (19:19): (109) My adjournment is for the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, and it is a matter of great importance to many residents in my constituency along the Mornington Peninsula Freeway, where unacceptable road noise in Dromana, McCrae and Rosebud is currently contributing to a deteriorating quality of life. The action I seek is for the minister to immediately commission the necessary works to address and solve this ongoing issue of traffic noise along the Mornington Peninsula Freeway.

Many Victorians choose to make the Mornington Peninsula home, often to enjoy a more peaceful and quieter pace of life than in urban areas. It is this peninsula lifestyle that I promised to protect when I was elected as the member for Nepean, a promise I have every intention of delivering. Constant road noise from Dromana to Rosebud has been an ongoing issue and has historically been so bad that residents have reported illness as a result. This is not acceptable in any community in Victoria, and we must ensure that infrastructure is delivered with an appropriate safeguard for all local residents.

Currently the threshold for the government to intervene and provide infrastructure investment to counteract noise pollution from roads is 68 decibels. VicRoads has confirmed that the stretch of the Mornington Peninsula Freeway between the Nepean Highway, Dromana, and Lonsdale Street, McCrae, has been professionally measured and exceeds this threshold. Despite VicRoads promising that these eligible sections of the Mornington Peninsula freeway will be prioritised for future noise attenuation consideration, my community has received no guarantees or time lines for when they will get the relief they need. Residents across the affected areas of Safety Beach, Dromana, McCrae and Rosebud deserve action and investment from the government to remedy this ongoing and pervasive blight on their lifestyle.

All Victorians should be able to rely on peaceful enjoyment of their property, uninterrupted by the man-made landscape that invariably surrounds them. Infrastructure is arguably necessary to progress our state and improve our overall quality of life, but we must stop short of negatively impacting the surrounding residential areas. Indeed where this impact is unavoidable it is incumbent on any government to take the appropriate steps to reduce, mitigate or compensate for the impact. The peaceful lifestyle we enjoy on the Mornington Peninsula is part of what makes our region the premier lifestyle destination in Victoria. That lifestyle is worth protecting and preserving, and I am committed to that.