Transport row

FERNTREE Gully MP Anne Eckstein has accused Knox City Council of “muddying the waters” by stoking debate on public transport.
Ms Eckstein said public transport was a State Government issue and not the responsibility of the council.
Her comments came as the council called on the community to air its views on transport in the municipality ahead of state elections.
The council, concerned about the impact of rising petrol prices and the environmental damage caused by private cars, is hosting a public meeting on Monday, 23 October at which local state candidates will outline policies and answer questions.
Councillor Adam Gill, chairman of the council’s public transport consultative committee, said all levels of government have a responsibility to provide good public transport.
“The outer suburbs of Melbourne that do not have access to good public transport – such as Rowville – suffer the most, with residents having little choice but to purchase another car to meet the family’s transport needs,” he said.
Ferntree Gully Liberal candidate Nick Wakeling welcomed the debate and attacked the Bracks Government’s record.
Mr Wakeling said the Government had failed to deliver on 1999 promises of a tram extension from Vermont South to Knox City and a Rowville rail feasibility study.
The Opposition pledged $100,000 to the feasibility study in June and promised to pay the rest should it gain power in November.
He said Labor had had its chance to set out long-term policies in May’s transport and liveability statement, which he described as a lot of spin with little substance.
“A lot of people I’ve spoken to perceive that this Government treats Knox as a political backwater and that is evidenced by the underdelivery of election promises,” he said.
But Ms Eckstein accused the Liberals of ‘spraying money around like confetti’ and defended the Government’s transport track record.
She pointed to increased local bus services and two new SmartBus routes for Knox, including the Wellington Road service due to open in a month’s time, as evidence of the Government’s commitment.
“Let’s see what the uptake is,” she said.
“If people aren’t going to get out of their cars to get on (the SmartBus), why are they going to get on a train?” she said.
Ms Eckstein blamed public transport’s lack of popularity upon the community’s perception it was unsafe and a culture of car dependence, and said it would take time to change people’s habits.
Ben Smith, former Knox councillor and sustainable transport campaigner for Environment Victoria, said his group would support a push from any party for sustainable transport options.
The group supports the Rowville train line, the extension of the Vermont South tram line all the way to Upper Ferntree Gully and the duplication of the train line from Ferntree Gully to Belgrave, as well as a full review of bus services.
“If you have a fast, efficient and economic public transport network people will use it,” he said.
Mr Smith also supported the council’s calls for the Federal Government to make Auslink funding, which is limited to road and rail freight infrastructure, available for public transport.
He said it was unacceptable that Australia was the only country in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that did not contribute in this way.
But La Trobe MP Jason Wood, who said he would love public transport to become a major issue in the state election, said he would only call for Federal intervention if the State Government “continued to fail on public transport”.