Wednesday, 31 August 2022

 Ms BURNETT-WAKE (Eastern Victoria) (18:22): (2101) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure. The action that I seek is for the minister to provide detailed information on exactly when the Pakenham East train station was first proposed. Residents of Pinehill Drive were informed back in February 2021 that their homes would be acquired and demolished to make way for a new Pakenham East train station. However, my constituents obtained documents from 2013, from a previous edition of the Pakenham East Precinct Structure Plan, that clearly show plans for the Pakenham East station to be situated near Pinehill Drive. The 2013 document includes a map with bold lettering over my constituents’ properties that says, ‘Demolish these homes’.

Seven years later, in December 2020, representatives from the Level Crossing Removal Project handed out pamphlets in Pakenham that showed the train station would be situated near Pinehill Drive on the back fence of my constituents’ properties. However, the representatives did not deliver these notices to the impacted residents of Pinehill Drive at the time. Someone mentioned this brochure to my constituents, but they were told by the Level Crossing Removal Project workers that the person had simply got it wrong. They thought that if their homes were going to be acquired they would have been the first to know. They also believed the station was going to be down the road, in the actual suburb of Pakenham East, several kilometres away. The reason my constituents did not believe the news was that they had just finished building their forever home in Pinehill Drive. They did not receive a brochure in December. They had paid stamp duty, paid for permits for all structures and sheds and jumped through all the hoops and hurdles in order to get their dream home completed. It did not make sense for the government and local council to take their money, charge them taxes and allow their build to go ahead while knowing that this station would require the home to be demolished, before it was even built.

My constituents were informed in February 2021 that the homes would in fact be acquired. I have mentioned previously in this chamber how despicable the consultation process was, with some residents finding out in the media. The 2013 document clearly shows the station was planned many, many years ago, yet my constituents were allowed to go ahead with their new home on the impacted area. The Herald Sun reported in March this year that the Andrews Labor government had forced some councils to sign confidentiality agreements to not disclose information on major projects. This meant bureaucrats have been unable to tell councillors or the constituents about the projects, despite the major impacts they will have on the community. My constituents feel that both the government and the council knew about this acquisition as far back as 2013 and still allowed their build to go ahead. Therefore the action that I seek is for the minister to provide detailed information on exactly when the Pakenham East train station was first proposed.