Tuesday, 18 March 2025

Suburban Rail Loop

Richard WELCH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (00:09): (1510) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop. The Allan government must immediately provide fair compensation to hardworking Melburnians whose businesses have been crushed by the SRL road shutdowns. It must also introduce better planning to minimise business disruptions. The closure of Railway Parade North in Glen Waverley has isolated an entire block of restaurants, hairdressers and grocery stores from customers, commuters and delivery drivers. Similarly in Clayton, road closures have turned off the tap for hundreds of businesses, forcing some to shut down entirely. Michael Qi’s restaurant was thriving until the road closed in August, slashing his revenue by 15 to 20 per cent each month. He has now drained $100,000 of his personal savings to stay afloat. Yoon’s Kitchen owner Anna Bae has had to lay off half her staff, as losses exceeded $15,000 a month. Meanwhile, hairdresser Chris Ong has lost more than $40,000 over six months. Mila Metlenko invested $500,000 of her life savings to build her Malaysian restaurant, only to see revenue plummet by up to $4000 weekly. She has not been able to pay herself for months, and the stress has caused serious health issues. With her business now unsellable, she faces walking away with nothing.

Business owners were initially told closures would last for three months, only to have them extended by another seven, with further delays likely. Yet despite these devastating losses the SRL has reportedly offered a mere $15,000 for seven months of road closures, an insulting figure that does nothing to keep businesses alive. The government claims the SRL will create an activity centre for traders in a decade, but if these businesses do not receive meaningful support there will be nothing left to revitalise. The financial toll has been described as worse than the COVID lockdowns, and yet the Allan government has abandoned these businesses, many owned by immigrants who have sacrificed everything, by failing to provide adequate support.

The action I seek from the minister is fair compensation that reflects the real losses suffered by these businesses and a commitment to proper planning that minimises commercial disruption. Will the government finally listen to these honest, hardworking small business owners, or will it continue to ignore their suffering while they are forced to close their doors?