Tuesday, 9 September 2025

Beveridge North West Precinct Structure Plan

Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (18:50): (1931) My adjournment is to the Minister for Planning regarding the Beveridge North West Precinct Structure Plan (PSP). I note the minister has approved this against the wishes of the local community, who are dismayed at the approval of a quarry right in the middle of a growth area. I think the community are right to express their frustration to me. They are right to express their frustration very vocally to the absent member for Kalkallo, who has failed to advocate for her community. The member for Preston seems to be able to get changes to the Minister for Planning’s directions and her planning schemes, but the member for Kalkallo cannot.

One thing that has angered my community is the lack of money for infrastructure in the Beveridge North West PSP. We all support more housing, particularly more housing in the north. But let me break down what the government has approved. Between Beveridge and Wallan the state government has approved 15,000 more homes. That is 50,000 people. If you look at the statistics, that is 100,000 more cars onto the Hume – because it will be the only way in and out of this estate – with absolutely zero dollars more for infrastructure. There is no additional money for infrastructure as part of this approval. There is no new Beveridge station. There is no new train electrification past Craigieburn. Two new stations were promised and then electrification to Wallan, but that is not on the table. There is no funding for an outer metropolitan ring-road, which would ease the traffic congestion. There is no funding for schools and for hospitals.

I saw the Minister for Planning out there on the day saying, ‘We’ve listened and we’re going to deliver this PSP in a new way,’ but there is no evidence of that. The minister only needs to look at their botched delivery of growth areas in Kalkallo and Beveridge. In Beveridge it takes 45 minutes for people to get off Lithgow Street onto the Hume. In Kalkallo it takes about an hour for people just to get onto Donnybrook Road to get out of their estate. There is no better example than Donnybrook Road when highlighting the government’s inability to plan for growth. It was the Liberals who duplicated the Mickleham side of Donnybrook Road because we signed developer contribution agreements to build infrastructure as people were moving in. On the Kalkallo and Donnybrook side it is still an old farm track with a single-lane bridge over the Hume. The action I seek of the minister is to come out to the outer north with me at peak hour and watch the traffic bank up from 2:30 in the afternoon on the Hume around the Donnybrook Road exit. She could admire the $500 million white elephant in the quarantine facility, and she can come out with me and actually look at this and fund infrastructure when she is approving new housing in the north.