Tuesday, 18 February 2025

 Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:41): (1405) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure. The action I seek is for the minister to meet with local business operators to hear and genuinely respond to their concerns regarding the proposed closure of Progress Street in Dandenong South as a result of the scheduled removal of the Progress Street level crossing. The closure of Progress Street will have a significant adverse effect on thousands of workers employed in businesses located in Progress Street, Nathan Road and Fowler Road.

The safety of many of these employees will be at risk, in particular the hundreds of employees who walk and cycle up and down Fowler Road to and from work every day. The increase in traffic in Fowler Road resulting from the closure will also have a dramatic and dangerous impact on all the users of Fowler Road. This includes hundreds of Australia Post employees, who walk and travel on bikes and other smaller vehicles. I must say it is meant to be or has been the largest Australia Post in the Southern Hemisphere.

I have spoken about this important local issue many times in this place. I have also spoken to the owners of many of the businesses in this precinct numerous times, and they are extremely concerned about the safety of employees due to the known dramatic increase in traffic volume and the size of many of the vehicles travelling up the much narrower, undulating and winding Fowler Road when Progress Street is closed. The road closure will also have a major impact on the efficiency of the many businesses in the area, given that many of them are serviced by high volumes of trucks every day. In fact some of them are very large trucks that carry cranes and others are very large Australia Post trucks.

I note the most recent level crossing removal update provided by the government was dated December 2024 and contains a number of false claims. For example, it states that removing the Progress Street level crossing:

Will allow more trains to run more often

This is pure nonsense given that the trains have a right of way and are not restricted by the current level crossing. It should also be noted that the level crossing is not near a station, so trains pass by rapidly and there is very little restriction to motor traffic. The government brochure goes on further to state that this project will:

… improve traffic flow and ease congestion in the area.

As I have said, all the local businesses and employees know this is inaccurate, false and even misleading, because everyone is concerned the road closure will cause further delays. Another false claim in the brochure is:

Boom gates down for 21% of the morning peak

Studies undertaken at the request of local businesses show that the boom gates are down for 11 per cent of the time in the morning peak and are averaging only 54 seconds per cycle. I am very pleased that the local lower house member of Parliament is now the minister with this new portfolio, and I am eager for her to help the many employees of this local business area, because many of these employees are also local residents – (Time expired)