Tuesday, 13 May 2025

 Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (19:17): (1612) My adjournment is directed to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety. The action I seek is for the minister to urgently investigate what can be done to improve safety at the Johnstone Street and Broadmeadows Road intersection in Westmeadows in my electorate. The current intersection leads to long queues, delays, near misses and even accidents on a daily basis due to the risky turns into oncoming traffic, which is further exacerbated by the 70-kilometre-per-hour speed limit on Broadmeadows Road. This dangerous situation not only disrupts traffic flow but also creates a severe safety hazard for drivers and pedestrians alike.

I know the minister does not often pay attention to the neglectorate of Greenvale in her capacity as Minister for Roads and Road Safety, but I suggest she does, because people are talking about the swing against Labor in the seat of Bendigo but let us not forget that there was an enormous, even bigger, swing against Labor on the primary vote, crashing about 15 per cent, in the federal election in the seat of Calwell, where they have lost 25 per cent in the last 10 years. This is an area that had a 15.5 per cent swing against them on the two-party preferred in the state election, and those trends will continue if the government does not pay attention to communities like Westmeadows in the neglectorate of Greenvale.

Residents of Westmeadows have a right to come and go from their homes without being backed up in the ludicrous traffic we see on a daily basis. The state government continues to ignore it. It continuously misses out on blackspot funding, despite the advocacy of Hume City Council to secure support. Labor have neglected the northern suburbs for far too long. As a result our roads remain poorly funded, forcing residents to face traffic gridlock. We need to upgrade the safety of this intersection in Westmeadows before it is too late. Whether it be a signalised intersection or a roundabout, we need the state government to act now.

I have previously invited the minister to come out with me to the neglectorate of Greenvale, to Westmeadows, to view this intersection for herself at Johnstone Street and Broadmeadows Road. So far that invitation has been ignored. Well, I suspect, with the continuation of the massive swings against the Labor Party in this part of the world, maybe they will come out soon; maybe they will finally pay attention. So I repeat the action: not only my invitation but to investigate what can be done and properly fund an upgrade to this intersection.