Mornington Peninsula
Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (09:57): In June this year I raised by way of adjournment, again, the metropolitan status of the Mornington Peninsula. That was the fifth time I have raised the issue in the Parliament; this time will be the sixth. The adjournment asked the Premier to take all actions necessary to reclassify the peninsula to regional. On Monday, only three weeks late, the Premier responded. Did he address the request? No. Did he indicate whether he would consider taking action? No, he did not. I got an explanation that the chief health officer has responsibility for providing public health advice, which we know. I got an explanation that the definition of Melbourne is based on the Planning and Environment Act 1987, which I know. I asked him to take action to reclassify the peninsula to regional; I did not ask the Premier to explain why the Mornington Peninsula is part of the metropolitan area. The fact that the Premier was not prepared to address the issue directly makes it clear that there is absolutely no justification for the current situation. The response confirms that this is nothing more than a bureaucratic convenience.
The peninsula is not an extension of the metropolitan area. The standard of government services on the Mornington Peninsula is not up to metropolitan standards. It is not now, and it never has been. The interests of the peninsula are complementary to the metropolitan area, but there are significant differences. It is time those differences were recognised, and it is time the government stopped hiding behind the status quo and started addressing the need for change.