Tuesday, 2 August 2022

Level crossing removals

Dr CUMMING (Western Metropolitan) (20:01): (2028) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure in the other place, and the action that I seek is for the minister to release the criteria and the officer recommendations used to prioritise level crossing removals. This matter has been raised with me by a constituent, Brian. In his own words:

For many months I’ve been determined to find out how the Andrews government determined which level crossings to remove as I am annoyed how they treated the people of Essendon and Moonee Ponds. They claim to have recorded and used metrics such as number of trains, number of vehicles using the crossing, proximity to schools etc. So I asked them fore the data. They refused. I served an FOI … they refused. I appealed to the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner … last October. They agreed with me and ruled that LXRP had to hand over the data. The LXRP has now, at taxpayers expense, taken it to VCAT.

Brian has been advised by VCAT that a preliminary hearing will take place in September but a full hearing will not be heard until after the election. He has simply asked the government to provide the information on how the level crossings have been selected. Brian initially approached the minister. In her response she advised:

The Victorian Government has adopted a framework for prioritising the removal of the level crossings. The framework assesses sites on safety, congestion, how level crossings divide communities and restrict access to local facilities, and the efficiency in removing sites …

While the removal of every level crossing around Melbourne would be ideal, the Level Crossing Removal Project is focused on getting on with those that have been prioritised for removal. You can read more about the prioritisation framework on the LXRP website at levelcrossings.vic.gov.au

I looked at the website this afternoon, and the only thing that I could find was the following. ‘How do you remove the crossings?’ was one question.

It all depends on the site!

Each design solution is based on a range of factors that are specific to that level crossing, which are determined through extensive engineering assessments.

The government is purporting to be open about the criteria, stating that they are on the website. Well, they are not on the website, and they will not give the information to Brian. They are, rather, trying to suppress it through VCAT. Just hand it over. The commissioner told them to hand it over. I would have thought they would be happy to hand this over and prove that it is not a selective exercise. Please, where are my level crossings in the west?