Tuesday, 2 May 2023

Thornhill Park

Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (17:31): (157) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure but it could probably go broader, and it relates to the complete lack of care for the residents and locals who live in Thornhill Park just east of Melton. As we saw on A Current Affair last week, locals in Thornhill Park are suffering due to completely being ignored. There are no shops, there are no medical facilities, certainly no Melton hospital, no amenities, no fire station, no buses, no police station, no high school, no ambulance station, not even a train station – the train actually goes straight past – and get this: no overpass. You can only access Thornhill Park westbound on the Western Highway. To get out of Thornhill Park you have to go outbound westward as well.

This is a completely shameful situation. During the morning and afternoon school rushes, particularly in peak periods when people are going to and from work, this can add an extra half an hour to travel times, which should only be 5 minutes. This overpass, which should be over Mount Cottrell Road, has been promised for years, yet nothing has been delivered. I met up with locals recently and they were absolutely furious. Many locals made the move to Thornhill Park because they were led to believe that infrastructure, and we are talking basic infrastructure here, would be in place so they could live comfortable lives. The reality could not be further from the truth. The situation is just a complete disgrace. People have tried to make new starts with their lives by moving into this estate only to have their dreams turn into a total nightmare. Literally over 6000 people have moved here and have been ignored, overlooked and forgotten.

The action that I seek is for the minister to join me, come down to Thornhill Park, meet with locals and properly fund and then build the amenities and local infrastructure that is needed. We are not talking about anything that is fancy; we are talking about basic essential infrastructure and other amenities that are needed. It is about priorities. Clearly Thornhill Park is not a priority. That has to change.