Key issues miss out

By Tania Martin
HILLS groups have slammed the State Government for ignoring two of the Dandenong Ranges’ key issues – public transport and climate change – in its 2009-10 budget.
Hills commuters will continue to battle an unreliable system after the need for a Belgrave-Lilydale line duplication and extension was again ignored
Yarra Ranges councillor and Eastern Transport Coalition (ETC) chairwoman Samantha Dunn said it was alarming that there was still no emphasis on an extension.
“We know the lines are busier than they have ever been before and the continued high cancellation rate is continuing to grow,” she said.
“It’s concerning that we have again missed out.”
Cr Dunn said it was the only way to fix the problems in the Dandenongs and Yarra Valley.
“We are seeing more and more people turn their backs on public transport and are getting back into their motor vehicles,” she said.
Cr Dunn said it was not just about people getting to work and school on time but being able to access other services such as health care.
She said it was also disappointing that the government had failed to include any climate change initiatives in the budget.
“We have reached a stage where real action is needed on climate change rather than tinkering on the edges which is what we seem to be doing,” she said
“All the science tells us that we need to make a move on this now and any action that is delayed is putting us in a more precarious position.”
The other critical issue for the area – health – has received a mixed review.
The Angliss hospital has welcomed health initiatives despite the Australian Medical Association Victoria’s criticisms of the budget.
AMA Victoria president Dr Doug Travis said the budget was “underwhelming” and that it had missed a real chance to take action on the region’s health care.
He said that hospitals currently don’t have a big enough capacity and that more needed to be done for elective surgery waiting lists.
However, The Angliss hospital’s general manager Natalie Sullivan said the need for extra capacity and waiting list issues were not a problem for the hospital.
Ms Sullivan said it was also fantastic to see the government putting money into recruiting opportunities with an extra 4500 places for medical students and 12,000 more trainee nursing staff.