Budget blow to railways

By Paul Pickering
THE Federal Government’s failure to allocate budgetary funds to public transport projects is a missed opportunity says Eastern Transport Coalition (ETC) chairman Mick Van de Vreede.
The Knox councillor last week bemoaned the Government’s willingness to overlook vital regional projects such as the provision of a rail route to Rowville and improving the capacity of the Belgrave rail line.
While public transport infrastructure has traditionally been regarded as a State Government responsibility, a recent Parliamentary inquiry into sustainable cities recommended that the Federal Government significantly boost its funding for public transport systems.
While these findings had given the ETC reason for optimism about the prospects of the Federal budget, their hopes were dashed by last Tuesday night’s announcement.
Cr Van de Vreede, however, remained adamant that Federal funding was needed.
“The State Government did not fund these projects last year so we have asked the Federal Government to take the lead and fund them,” he said.
“Funding public transport on a national basis, like roads are, is a great idea.
“More public transport would save the environment, save road funds and, importantly, help people avoid the high cost of petrol and traffic congestion.”
Cr Van de Vreede said he was hopeful that local MPs such as La Trobe’s Jason Wood would continue to advocate for public transport initiatives in Melbourne’s outer east.
“The Federal Government needs to take a lead role and initiate a program to encourage the creation of a transport system which mitigates climate change,” he said.
Mr Wood, however, was quick to point out that public transport is, first and foremost, the responsibility of the State Government.
“My position is that the State Government should have made a major contribution to these projects in their own budget,” he said.
“We’re not asking the State Government to hand over money for defence training or military, yet they’re asking us to hand over money for public transport.
“There may be a time, and that time could come rather quickly, that if the State Government continues to fail, the Federal Government may have to come to the rescue.”