Thursday, 29 August 2024

Ringwood East train station

Nick McGOWAN (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (18:04): (1109) I cannot let a week pass without mentioning the toilet. I know I can see you wince. I apologise to the public who might be watching, and I apologise to you, Mr President, but I cannot let a week pass without mentioning the toilet – of course the toilet in the good suburb of Ringwood East. To most people this is perhaps somewhat amusing, and they could be forgiven for that. Minister for Skills and TAFE, I might even write a letter to you as well. I know this might fall somehow under the TAFE portfolio or rural development, one of the two – it might. In this particular regard I wrote to the good minister herself in the other chamber Natalie Hutchins. It has been some 16 days since I wrote this letter, so I am a bit disappointed that I have not had a response by now.

Bev McArthur interjected.

Nick McGOWAN: It may well have gone down the toilet. I hope for the sake of the good people of Ringwood that it has not, because they would be upset that the minister has a better toilet than we have. We do not have one. We are just after one. It is not too much to ask, I would not have thought, with a billion-dollar spend, two level crossing removals and a brand new train station – and not a single toilet, not one. There is not even a stand-up toilet, not even a toilet like they have in Amsterdam, where you can go in public almost and do it in front of everyone. There is not even one of those – nothing, nada, nyet – nothing in any language. Anyway, I digress.

I wrote to the minister and I said:

On behalf of all women and girls in Ringwood, I am writing to ask for your urgent support for the inclusion of a public toilet at the new Ringwood East train station.

As it stands, the Ringwood East train station is being rebuilt.

That is true.

To date, Minister Pearson has refused to include a public toilet as part of the new station.

It is insane but true – 2024.

The nearest public toilet is 190 meters away, up a … dark alleyway …

and I have filmed it, if anyone is interested, particularly you at home. If you are interested, go and look on Facebook – through you, President. If you are interested, have a look at it. This is the serious point, and I know the President is captivated by this, so I will read it aloud:

No girl or woman should have to choose between their safety and the need to go to the bathroom. I need not tell you –

and I am not obviously referring to the minister here –

that pregnant women, young girls and women, our senior citizen women, and those with ability limitations, are most vulnerable.

In fact anyone is. Let us be honest.

The government has presented safety of women and girls as its top priority.

That is the spin. That is what we are being told day after day:

I am sure you will agree that strong words alone don’t make women and girls safe. We must deliver the physical infrastructure that delivers a safe environment for them to live in.

Now, who does not agree with that, member McArthur?

Bev McArthur interjected.

Nick McGOWAN: I thought you would even agree with that. So I have asked Minister Hutchins to raise this matter at cabinet. I have also written to the Premier. And in a desperate plea to the Premier, I have said to the Premier – and I will go into that perhaps next or the week after – ‘Premier, if all the merit arguments fail and you cannot bring yourself on merit, for the sake of women and girls and everything else alone, for the sake of God don’t let me moan about this for the next two years. Get your cabinet colleagues together. Please give us a tour of Ringwood East.’ We just want one. That is all I am after and that is all the people of Ringwood East are after. Minister Tierney, if it assists us in this chamber, I will also write to you and ask you to bring up the same issue in cabinet next week.

The PRESIDENT: So the action is to advocate to the Minister for Transport Infrastructure?

Nick McGOWAN: Thank you, President.