Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to comment upon two public meetings held in the Gorton electorate last week: one dealt with the provision of education services to primary school students, and the other dealt with the lack of Commonwealth funding for the interchanges on the Calder Highway. It is always a reflection of an important issue when you arrive at a local community hall on a cold winter’s night, as I did on Tuesday, to see more than 60 people attend. These people discussed their concerns about the failure of the Commonwealth to fund three interchanges, namely Calder Park Drive, which is the interchange furthest away from Melbourne CBD, the Kings Road interchange that has been promised, and also Sunshine Avenue.

These three interchanges are certainly needed not only to prevent the congestion that has arisen as a result of the growth along this freeway, but also because of the growth in the number of commuters who drive through my electorate from Sunbury to Melbourne or, indeed, from further afield—from Macedon, Gisborne, and other communities—to Melbourne. That congestion is a real problem for constituents of my electorate, but also for those beyond the electorate of Gorton.

A bigger issue than that, and a more critical issue for me, is the high incidence of accidents that have occurred as a result of these very unsafe intersections onto the freeway. The Commonwealth has not provided sufficient funds. The state government, although it is not its particular responsibility, has undertaken to provide half the costs of the construction of the interchanges. Of course, this would lead to far more efficient travel along this important link to Bendigo and beyond, and it would also ensure there would be fewer casualties on the roads.

It is a vital matter for the constituents in my electorate, and also the constituents in Calwell. The constituents of the Minister for Small Business and Tourism, the member for McEwen, would be equally concerned that this funding has not eventuated, that this situation has not been rectified. Therefore, I call upon the ministers for transport and roads to respond to the campaign. Already there have been petitions containing 1,600 signatures tabled in parliament calling upon the Commonwealth to rectify this matter. I know the member for Calwell has tabled a similar petition, and I call upon the member for McEwen, across the chamber, to do the same. I know her community is hurting, and they need that addressed.

The other matter I wanted to touch upon quickly is the ongoing concern of a primary school in my electorate, in Caroline Springs, and its failure to be allotted land. Delfin is a company that develops land, and it is a very important component of the development of Caroline Springs. However, it has provided the land to ICA, which was once a subsidiary of ABC Learning. ICA has not got a history of providing education to any primary school students in the country, and, therefore, the community in Caroline Springs thinks it is more important that a school that has a relationship with this community should be given the opportunity to extend their campus first and ensure that they can meet the demands of those going to that school.

I hope the problem that has eventuated can be resolved. Delfin and Christ the Priest Primary School, the state government and others should be looking to attend to that. I have been to two public meetings. The first one had more than 300 people in attendance, which really shows you how important the issue is. I hope we can resolve that matter so that the students in Caroline Springs can properly—(Time expired)