Thursday, 21 March 2024

 Nick McGOWAN (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (10:03): I do not wish to alarm anyone here, but I have a wee problem. In fact the people of my electorate in Ringwood and I have a wee problem.

Bev McArthur: Can you rephrase that?

Nick McGOWAN: No, that is quite accurate, because unfortunately we learned recently, and it has got some media attention today, that a new train station in my electorate in Ringwood, the one at Ringwood East in particular, will have no toilets. You can spend some $700 million, and admittedly that includes some level crossing removals, which I welcome, both on Dublin Road and on Bedford Road, but how can you then not provide a single toilet? You have got form on this in the electorate of Ringwood, at Heathmont station in 2022.

Bev McArthur interjected.

Nick McGOWAN: They do not like lavatories. Two million dollars they spent. They gave us some canopies – not the type you eat; that is another spelling. They gave us some benches and some parking spots, but again no toilets. What do we do for the local mums? What do we do for the kids as they are going to school? What do we do for the parents? What do we do for the pensioners? What do we do for the young people? The advice from this government is that they should hold on or go to the nearby shopping precinct. It is quite a trip from Ringwood into the city, as most people would appreciate, and I for one would like to see some toilets at the Ringwood East train station. I do not think that is too much to ask when you are spending $700 million.