Thursday, 3 August 2023

Western suburbs air quality

Melissa HORNE (Williamstown – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Ports and Freight, Minister for Roads and Road Safety) (09:52): It was a great privilege to join with the Minister for Environment in Altona North recently to deliver on our promise to improve air quality in Melbourne’s inner western suburbs by modernising truck fleets and also sealing local roads. The $20 million package announcement includes making grants available to support a transition to trucks that produce fewer emissions.

It was also really exciting for community members like Leigh and Lauren from Altona East soccer club that have really struggled with some unsealed roads that have interrupted training sessions. The dust that has been produced on Ross Road has actually required that kids with asthma not train, so being able to seal this road through a $5 million grant will make such a fundamental difference for this soccer club.

We know it is important to work with the community and industry to reduce the environmental impact of heavy vehicles while making roads safer for pedestrians by lowering speed limits and banning trucks on some roads, and that is exactly what we will be doing from 2025 with the introduction of truck bans, which will remove 9000 trucks from roads in the inner west and cut congestion for local communities. This will have a significant impact for our community and ensure that locals in my electorate can get on and enjoy all the amazing offerings of our community and breathe a little more easily.