Tuesday, 10 September 2024

Suburban Rail Loop

Brad ROWSWELL (Sandringham) (13:14): Last Thursday I hosted a community forum to discuss the impact of Labor’s Suburban Rail Loop in my community, and I am pleased to report that over 300 local residents attended to ask questions and to voice their concerns. Unlike Labor’s faux SRL consultation sessions, where locals were often asked to place a coloured sticker on their preferred drawing, I was pleased to host an old-school town hall meeting where community members were encouraged to ask and say whatever they liked.

Members of my community never asked for an SRL, and they certainly did not ask for the lasting and negative impacts it will have on the community. People are worried, scared and distressed. Some fear their homes will be compulsorily acquired with compensation not meeting their property’s true value. Others are alarmed by the prospect of 18-storey-high residential towers, which would strip away the unique charm and character of our community, not to mention cause increased traffic congestion, overcrowding in parks and strain on local facilities.

One resident was even in tears at the thought of waking up to dust on her balcony from the removal of the 6000 cubic metres of category A waste that is required to be removed from the Sir William Fry Reserve for the project to proceed. Unanimously those who attended the community forum want Labor’s SRL to be paused, for the government to publicly release the contracts they have signed and for the Allan Labor government to prioritise people over vanity projects such as this. On behalf of my community, I urge Premier Allan and Labor ministers to heed this message: pause the Suburban Rail Loop; prioritise people first.