Wednesday, 28 August 2024

 Renee HEATH (Eastern Victoria) (14:08): (1076) Last week I met with the Lang Lang District Business & Community Group, who have been advocating for a Lang Lang bypass for years now. Five years ago one truck would drive through the main street every 4 to 5 minutes, and that number has now increased to one per minute. This town is being destroyed by heavy vehicles, and locals are nervous, especially at times when there are lots of schoolkids around, like after school. They feel completely abandoned by this government. Their taxpayer dollars are going to projects that will not benefit them, like the Suburban Rail Loop, while their safety goes ignored. On 6 August they met with the Minister for Planning about the bypass, and tragically that meeting had to start late because participants who were coming to the meeting were stuck behind a horrible accident where the brakes of a truck failed, resulting in a man losing his legs. This is something that is absolutely overdue and needed. So my question for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure is: why won’t you build the bypass?