Tuesday, 3 February 2026

 Wayne FARNHAM (Narracan) (20:38): (1495) My adjournment this evening is to the Minister for Transport Infrastructure. The action I seek is that the minister take immediate action to accelerate the road study and design into the Warragul and Drouin road networks. I have been in this chamber many times talking about the issues of infrastructure delivery across West Gippsland. Following the bipartisan Liberal and Labor commitments at the federal election, Victoria has been gifted $3 million to undertake this study. The Transport Victoria website has been updated and has left the community concerned about just what this study will achieve. It states:

Planning work is expected to begin in 2026 and will run over several years.

The problem I have is that it took eight years to get the money. Now it is going to take another three years to do the study. That is well over a decade. As I have said before in this chamber, Warragul and Drouin are the fastest growing towns in Australia over the last 10 years.

The traffic congestion in my electorate is absolutely ridiculous. To take another three years to get this study completed is paralysis by analysis, and my electorate is paralysed with traffic congestion. Just a few of the intersections that need upgrading right now are Weebar Road in Drouin, Howitt Street and Burke Street in Warragul, the Lardner intersection, where we are still waiting for our new hospital – it still has not been started – Buln Buln Road, Balfour Road and Main South Road in Drouin, just adjacent to where a new social housing development is going to occur, which is 45 units and only 27 ‍car parks at a major bus interchange. That intersection has to be upgraded with the infrastructure that is going in there. Then if I go into Cardinia, I have problems at the intersection with Princes Highway at Tynong, Garfield, Bunyip, Gumbuya World, Nar Nar Goon and Longwarry and Bunyip-Modella Road in Bunyip as well.

This community has suffered enough. We have to get this right. It is growing at a very, very fast rate, and it continues to grow because housing is affordable in my electorate. But the fact of the matter is that it will take three years to do the design and study. In that time there are probably going to be another 4500 people at minimum moving to that area, causing more congestion worries for my community. I urge the minister: prioritise this study, do the consultation, get the projects planned and costed and get on with funding these essential upgrades before my community grinds to a halt.