Thursday, 27 August 2026

 Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (22:19): (2757) My adjournment is to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I seek is for the minister to clearly outline the steps that the Victorian government will take to improve road safety in the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, especially in areas where dangerous and sometimes fatal accidents have occurred. Recently I visited the intersection of Hallam South, Centre and O’Grady roads in Hallam with former councillor Rosalie Crestani. She used to work off this road. This is a crossroad intersection on a main road in the area, yet this government has not installed any traffic lights. That was not a problem before they removed the level crossing, but now that the level crossing has been removed and there have been improvements done to the station we have traffic banking up, and it is extremely dangerous for those who are using the road.

Locals have explained to me that they are filled with fear every time they turn onto the busy Hallam South Road. A local business owner has even shared footage of a car being rolled over. They describe regularly seeing accidents while at work and worry about how many more are occurring when they are not in the area. A mere 5- to 10-minute drive away is Pound Road, where a 16-year-old boy was fatally hit while walking home from school. The whole community came together, rallying behind petitions which received thousands of signatures to improve safety on this road. I do want to say I attended a couple of services for this young man, and the funeral was so well attended by the community I was actually standing outside. It really was a very, very terrible tragedy, and for this family, their only son has been lost. Finally, there was a fatal accident on Belgrave-Hallam Road, where a 33-year-old was struck by a car and killed while going on his daily run. Constituents have reported to me that they have approached their local member of Parliament about this tragic accident, with disappointing outcomes.

What this Carroll Labor government is forgetting is that when a road accident occurs, especially a fatal one, it impacts the whole community. The accidents I have described are only headlines, but the reality is that Victorians are scared, and they are not asking for miracles, just a bit of common sense. They want simple, practical solutions: a safety barrier, a set of traffic lights, a reduced speed limit. Yet this Carroll Labor government continues to ignore Victorians who are telling them exactly how they want their hard-earned tax money spent. Instead those opposite have spent taxpayer money on things like machete bins that were totally useless and did not serve their purpose and on $15 billion of corruption to the CFMEU and criminal bikie cartels. Only a Wilson-led Liberal government will listen to Victorians, respect every taxpayer and put Victoria’s safety and wellbeing first.