Western Victoria Region
Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (12:43): (137) My question is to the minister representing the Minister for Public Transport and relates to the poor connectivity that young people, particularly in my electorate, face. I recently visited Hamilton and had a discussion with concerned locals and council. One of the significant problems faced locally, especially for young people, is access to TAFE. We know how the government loves free – aka subsidised – TAFE. The closest TAFE is South West TAFE in Warrnambool. There is one bus service from Monday to Thursday to Warrnambool and one on Friday. The bus leaves Hamilton at 10:30 in the morning and the second bus, on Friday only, leaves at 2:22 pm. Buses return to Hamilton at 1:38 pm, and then the second bus service on the Friday gets back at 6:22 pm. If you do not take a bus, you can pay a few hundred dollars for a taxi, or it is about a 3-hour round trip in a car. My question is: will this government commit to reviewing the public transport timetables with the view of improving accessibility for young people, particularly in regional areas like Hamilton?