Tag: population growth

Eastern Transport Coalition – State Candidates Forum at Maroondah

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The Eastern Transport Coalition is a council initiated advocacy group, covering Melbourne’s seven outer eastern Councils; Greater Dandenong, Knox, Manningham, Maroondah, Monash Whitehorse and the Shire of Yarra Ranges.

As part of its advocacy campaign, the Eastern Transport Coalition is holding a series of candidate forums, throughout each of the member councils. The evening was attended by representatives of each of the three major parties, the Australian Labor Party, the Victorian Liberal Party and the Victorian Greens.

I provided the introduction to tonight’s forum to highlight the current public transport deficiencies within Maroondah. The speech is available within this entry:

Welcome candidates and the community to the Maroondah City Council Eastern Transport Coalition Public Transport Forum.

Maroondah City Council, in the spirit of reconciliation, acknowledges that we are meeting on the land for which the Wurundjeri people have been custodians for many centuries, and on Land which the indigenous Australians have performed age old ceremonies.

We are fortunate tonight to have secured Mr Clay Lucas as our independent moderator. Clay may be well known to some of you as he is part of The Age’s city team having worked The Age and The Sunday Age since 2005 as a city reporter. This role sees Clay reporting on a range of topics across the transport sector, including roads, public transport, planning and development. In 2009 Clay won a Quill for transport reporting with Age investigative reporter Royce Millar.

Before I hand over to Clay to get the evening underway I just want to provide a quick overview of the public transport issues that Maroondah sees as important to the community and help set the context of public transport in the east.

Regional Perspective

The eastern region is an established area experiencing significant economic and population growth.
This growth is mainly occurring through infill and consolidation of existing residential, commercial and employment areas.

The network is struggling to keep up with demand and provide services that the community require to carry out their day to day activities as viable alternatives to the motor vehicle.

The Victorian Transport Plan – Does not deliver for the east

To keep pace with the population and economic growth the current public transport system needs to expand.

The Victorian Transport Plan does not adequately consider or respond to the needs of the East and greater investment is still required, if the eastern suburbs are to continue to be liveable and met the State’s land use and transport plans as outlined in Melbourne @ 5 million.

The high household car ownership in the City of Maroondah is evidence of the public transport systems inability to provide a service that allows our community to undertake their daily activities. The ETC and Maroondah City Council call on the government for the development of a long term regional public transport strategy for the Eastern region.

Ringwood Station Upgrade

Ringwood is identified as one of six Central Activity Districts which will offer CBD type services in suburban locations. In recent MTF public survey, Ringwood Station was voted as Melbourne’s second worse station, after Richmond.

The current Ringwood Station is difficult to access with steep ramps to station platforms that fail the State Government’s Disability Discrimination Act requirements.

The footpath access from each side of the station is not safe, particularly for people in wheel chairs and there is not direct wheel chair access to the car park which is located at the bottom of a steep stairway.
There has been no significant upgrade to the station in more than 50 years and it is desperately needing to be modernised.

For Ringwood Station to be truly accessible to all and permit convenient transferring between transport services, it is imperative that it is clean, comfortable, accessible and safe and secure.

Triplication for the Belgrave/Lilydale line

As Central Melbourne will continue to be a major location for employment, the arts, culture, sport and leisure, central Melbourne should be conveniently accessible by public transport for all Melbournians.
The demand on the Belgrave/Lilydale lines, with approximately 93,000 daily boardings, make these lines one of Melbourne’s most highly patronised rail corridors.

The patronage of both lines is reaching capacity with overcrowding a regular passenger experience. To facilitate more efficient and comfortable commuting for those passengers coming from beyond Ringwood Station, the triplication of the line between Box Hill and Ringwood is required.

Better Buses

Buses are the largest public transport option available to residents within Maroondah and the neighbouring municipalities. Bus patronage is growing, particularly on services with long operation and high frequency of service, i.e. the SmartBus Routes.

The recently conducted Metropolitan Bus Service Reviews was a step in the right direction with identifying inadequate service and generating regional specific solutions. However, very few of the recommendations have been implemented and they have only been small route extensions or minimal frequency and duration improvements.

Bus services in Maroondah remain poor with limited out of peak services and long wait times between services throughout most of the day. Improving bus services in coverage, service frequency and duration will provide real alternatives to the private vehicle and enable the community of Maroondah to have real choice in transport.

Conclusion

The provision of a more equitable, accessible public transport will reduce the detrimental effects of poor access to public transport in the eastern region, such as, social isolation, high car dependency, reduced financial freedom or the inability to access services.

A truly integrated and accessible transport network will also reduce the regions vulnerability to changes in the environment, such as climate change and peak oil.

I thank you for your attendance tonight and look forward to hearing how the candidates respond to your issues.

I’ll now hand you over to Clay to get the evening underway.

Media Release: Six key priorities for Eastern Region Councils

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The Mayors and CEOS of the Eastern Region Councils met the candidates of the major parties last week to discuss the key priorities for the coming State Election.

Maroondah Mayor Alex Makin, who chaired the meeting, said representatives from Yarra Ranges, Banyule, Boroondara, Greater Dandenong, Knox, Manningham, Nillumbik and Whitehorse councils all attended the event.

“The Eastern Region Councils represent more than 1.34 million people which is 25 per cent of Melbourne’s metropolitan population, so by joining forces we have more scope to ensure our concerns are addressed by the State Government,” Cr Makin said.

“Last week’s meeting was an opportunity to ensure the major party candidates in the upcoming election were fully briefed on the ERC priority issues and concerns,” Cr Makin said.

The Eastern Region Councils priorities are: public transport; early years; street lighting; school crossing supervision; libraries and land use planning

“We believe the residents living in the eastern region deserve an improved level of public transport services. The Eastern Region Councils are calling on the State Government to take the lead when it comes to developing a long term regional public transport strategy which addresses the needs of the eastern region,” Cr Makin said.

“Some of the major projects that were discussed were the triplication of the train line between Box Hill and Ringwood and the duplication of single tracks running to Lilydale and Belgrave,” Cr Makin said.

“We also discussed the need for high capacity public transport connecting Rowville and Doncaster to the city, and introducing a review of the public transport pricing arrangements,” Cr Makin said.

“These types of changes would go a long way to addressing the current and future needs of the growing population in the eastern region,” Cr Makin said.

Another major concern of the Eastern Region Councils is the development and implementation of the Early Years Reform.

“While the Eastern Region Councils are supportive of the Early Years Reform we believe it is imperative that the collective impacts of all the components of the reform are considered during the development of the implementation plan,”; Cr Makin said.

“Eastern Region Councils would like to see a consultative and partnership approach during the implementation of the reform and to ensure there is adequate funding and resources allocated to the reform,” Cr Makin said.

Street lighting is the third priority or the Eastern Region Councils and one that has been generating a lot of support via the MAV’s Give Our Streets the Green Light campaign.

“The Eastern Region Councils are calling on the State Government to make a funding commitment towards the capital costs of changing over the street lights to more energy efficient globes,” Cr Makin said.

The third priority is the increasing cost of school crossing supervisors due to cost-shifting from the State Government.

“The cost of implementing the program each year is increasing due to the amount of cost-shifting coming from the State Government,” Cr Makin.

“The funding gap just continues to grow, with councils now subsidising about 75 per cent of the school crossing program,” Cr Makin said.

“To address this issue the Eastern Region Councils are calling on a 50:50 type system to better share the costs between local and state governments,” Cr Makin said.

“The group is calling for a similar agreement to help cover the costs associated with running library services. The current models of State Government funding doesn’t take
into account inflation or population growth, so the funds are only covering about 20 per cent of operating the facilities,” Cr Makin said.

“The councils are seeking a long term funding agreement from the State Government which better recognises the growing costs of operating library services,” Cr Makin said.

“Planning and land use issues are also a high priority, with the Eastern Region Councils seeking a commitment from the State Government to amend sections of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 which would give more weight to local government planning scheme amendments which have reached the exhibition stage,” Cr Makin said.

“At the moment Eastern Region Councils don’t have enough confidence in the process because of the variations in which the planning policy is interpreted at VCAT level. By introducing clearer definitions in the policy, the Eastern Region Councils believe there would be greater certainty and less dissatisfaction among residents and developers,” Cr Makin said.

– ENDS –

Media Release: Council launches petition to upgrade Ringwood Station

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Maroondah City Council is calling on all state political parties to commit to delivering a safe, accessible and integrated Ringwood Station within the term of the next State Government.

On September 1, Council will launch a petition as the first stage of a community based campaign calling for the Station redevelopment.

Maroondah Mayor Alex Makin said Council shares the community’s concern about the station.

“The Maroondah community has waited for far too long for a safe, accessible transit interchange. The current layout of the station fails disability compliance standards meaning it is difficult to access for people with a disability, the elderly and parents with prams,” Cr Makin said.

“The Disability Discrimination Act is about treating people equally and giving people the same opportunities as everyone else as to access public transport. The continued lack of commitment towards the upgrade makes a mockery of delivering sustainable and accessible transport options,” Cr Makin said.

“The Tudor-style brick building which houses the ticket office was built in 1889 and the footbridge linking the platforms was upgraded in the 1960s. Despite the substantial population growth in the region and the importance of public transport, there has been no significant upgrade to the station in more than 50 years,” Cr Makin said.

“Following years of lobbying by Council the State Government undertook initial urban design works in 2004,” Cr Makin said.

“In 2007 the State Government spent $4.5million on design works to integrate the public transport interchange with the Eastland redevelopment. In September 2008 the State Government announced $39million for the Bus Interchange and Maroondah Highway Station Plaza project. While this is a positive step, we are still waiting for a funding commitment to upgrade the most important aspect of the Central Activities District – Ringwood Station,” Cr Makin said.

“Council will continue to work in partnership with State Government, and meet with department representatives and ministers to stress the importance of upgrading Ringwood Station to be compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act and for safety reasons,” Cr Makin said.

“We will also continue to meet with local members of parliament who are supportive of Council’s campaign and are willing to advocate of our behalf for a funding commitment to this essential project,” Cr Makin said.

“The redevelopment of the Ringwood Station into an accessible, integrated and safe transit interchange is critical to the success of our transition into a sustainable and accessible Central Activities District,” Cr Makin said.

“Council has a critical role in advocating on behalf of our community. The petition is an important way for Council and the community to get that message to the State Government,” Cr Makin said.

“The best way we can do this is generating as much support as possible, so we encourage everyone to sign the petition which will be available online, at Council’s service centres and Ringwood and Croydon libraries,” Cr Makin said.

“The more community support we gain, the stronger our voice in demanding that the funding commitment is made. I urge the community to join this campaign and to get involved” Cr Makin concluded.

To sign the petition and to join the campaign you can:

Go online:
Maroondah Council website – www.maroondah.vic.gov.au
Maroondah Youth Services website www.maroondahyouthservices.com.au
Maroondah Youth Services MySpace page – www.myspace.com/maroondahyouthservices

Visit one of Council’s service centres:
City Offices Service Centre
Braeside Avenue, Ringwood

Eastland Service Centre
Level 2, Eastland Shopping Centre, Ringwood

Croydon Service Centre
Civic Square, Croydon

Visit one of Maroondah’s libraries:

Ringwood Library
4 Ringwood Street Mall, Ringwood
(Adjacent to Eastland Shopping Centre).

Croydon Library
Civic Square, Mount Dandenong Road, Croydon.

– ENDS –

Media Release: Federal election wishlist

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Mayor of Maroondah, Councillor Alex Makin has confirmed Council’s major project for funding at the forthcoming Federal election.

“The Federal election provides Council with a wonderful opportunity to promote the City of Maroondah to all federal candidates, both sitting and standing, and to ensure they are briefed on the issues and projects that are of concern to the Maroondah community,” said Cr Makin.

“With federal political parties forming a consensus on the need for sustainable population growth, it is timely to note that Maroondah is poised to assist with these concerns, with Ringwood being one of six State Government designated Central Activities Districts,” said Cr Makin.

“Significant investment and development has commenced in Ringwood, with support from the State Government and private enterprise – major commercial and residential growth is already underway,” said Cr Makin.

“Our priority is to ensure that all federal political parties are aware of the proposal for the Maroondah Aquatic and Leisure facility and the importance of the project for the region, both in recreational and leisure terms as well as the economic and employment benefits during construction and operation,” said Cr Makin.

“A particular aspect of Maroondah Aquatic and Leisure is that it will lead the way in terms of Environmentally Sustainable Design – an essential element in any infrastructure planning,” said Cr Makin.

“Council is seeking considerable funding to assist with the development of this project, particularly for the diving facilities which will provide unique dry driving training for the State, as well as FINA standard 10 metre diving tower and pool,” said Cr Makin.

Council has sought a grant of $10 million from the Federal Government towards this vital project.

“Both Diving Victoria and Diving Australia are strongly supporting this initiative. These bodies recognise the need for new training and competition facilities and have the results on the board in terms of past, present and future diving athletes,” said Cr Makin.

“The Delhi Commonwealth Games later this year will have a number of diving competitors who began their careers at the current Ringwood Aquatic Centre, and I’m sure the Maroondah community will watch with some anticipation to see how well they perform,” said Cr Makin.

The project has also gained support from:

  • Ringwood Diving Club Inc
  • Whitehorse Diving Club
  • Ringwood Triathalon Club
  • Ringwood Swimming Club
  • Victorian Water Polo

“The Maroondah Aquatic and Leisure facility will complement the developments to take place in the Ringwood Central Activities District enabling it to meet the needs of the growing and diverse regional population of more than 400,000 people,” said Cr Makin.

“I will be endeavouring to meet with all candidates over the coming weeks to ensure that they are aware of the needs of the Maroondah community, and wish them all well as they campaign on behalf of our local community,” said Cr Makin.

– ENDS –

The 2010 National General Assembly of the Australian Local Government Association

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The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) is the peak body representing local government at a national level.  Each year the organisation holds a National General Assembly, where Councils across the country nominate motions to influence the priorities and initiatives undertaken by ALGA.

This year Maroondah proposed three motions to be debated at the National General Assembly, covering the need for the Commonwealth Government to provide funding for infrastructure required to meet ongoing population growth, as well as support for replacing existing street lighting with energy efficient lights.  A third motion calling for funding certainty for Home and Community Care Services (HACC) has already been achieved given that the the Commonwealth Government has committed to protecting arrangements for Victoria.

Maroondah’s motions were successful and it is encouraging to see Councils across the country supporting each other in calling for the best outcomes for our community and the nation. One of the advantages of ALGA is the dialogue between local councils and the Commonwealth, with several Members of Parliament, across all political parties, speaking at the conference.

Attending the ALGA Conference in Canberra is a time demanding task and it is encouraging to see several of my colleagues recognising the importance of a strong Maroondah presence at the National Assembly and during discussions with Federal Members of Parliament.  Maroondah’s CEO Frank Dixon, as well as Councillors Michael Macdonald, Paul Macdonald, Rob Steane and Les Willmott joined me in Canberra and I thank them for their attendance.

While we were in Canberra we took the opportunity to meet the Federal Members of Parliament, which include Maroondah within their electorates and I would like to thank Mike Symon, the Member for Deakin, Kevin Andrews, the Member for Menizes and Tony Smith, the Member for Casey for their time.  In addition, we had the opportunity to speak to several Ministers and senior advisors and Canberra serves as a useful opportunity to discuss Maroondah’s priorities and the need for further collaboration and partnerships between multiple levels of Government.

All levels of government need to work together to deliver the best possible outcomes for our community and Maroondah’s presence in Canberra helped to convey the need for this partnership and collaboration.

Maroondah Leader: Council push on demands

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The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) is the peak body representing each local council across Australia.  Each year ALGA holds a national assembly, whereby Councils can submit and debate motions to help shape the priorities and advocacy undertaken by the organisation.

The City of Maroondah has proposed several motions consistent with the themes of population, productivity and participation, which are central to this year’s ALGA National Assembly:

That this National General Assembly calls on the Commonwealth Government to financially support the upgrade of infrastructure within large Metropolitan Activity Centres to cater for the increased population growth by 2050.

That this National General Assembly calls on the Commonwealth Government to ensure that any possible changes to the funding of health care services, particularly the area of Home and Community Care (HACC) and Maternal and Child Health services, does not impact on current funding arrangements with Local Government.

That this National General Assembly calls on both the State and Federal Governments to provide financial assistance for the roll out of Energy Efficient Street lighting.

The Maroondah Leader has reported on the motions proposed by the City of Maroondah:

Mayor Alex Makin said the council wanted to ensure that changes to the funding of health care services did not impact on current funding arrangements with local government.
Many Victorian councils deliver home and community care, as well as maternal and child services, Cr. Makin said. “The commonwealth must be alerted to the need to protect their financial interests and community wellbeing with any changes to the system.”

The Australian Local Government Association National General Assembly will be held in Canberra from the 14th to the 17th of June.

Media Release: Council to present three motions at ALGA conference

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Maroondah City Council will present three motions to the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) National General Assembly in Canberra from 14 to 17 June.

Mayor of Maroondah, Cr Alex Makin, will make the presentations on Council’s behalf.

“The three motions to be presented on behalf of Maroondah are seen to be of national significance, particularly as issues such as population growth and climate change need to be approached at the national level in the interest of all Australians,” Cr Makin said.

At its meeting of Monday 19 April, Council approved the three motions for submission.

“The first motion calls on the ALGA National General Assembly to encourage the Federal Government to financially support the upgrade of infrastructure within large metropolitan activity centres to cater for the projected increase in Australia’s population by 2050,” Cr Makin said.

The second motion requests that the ALGA National General Assembly call on the Federal Government to ensure that any possible changes to the funding of health care services, particularly in the area of Home and Community Care and Maternal and Child Health services, does not impact on current funding arrangements with local government.

“As Victorian councils are involved with the delivery of these services, the Commonwealth must be alerted to the need to protect their financial interests in any changes to the system,” Cr Makin said.

Cr Makin said the third motion requested that the ALGA National General Assembly call on state and federal governments to provide financial assistance for the roll-out of energy efficient street lighting.

“Implementing energy efficient street lighting is the single biggest issue for Councils trying to reduce greenhouse emissions and meet greenhouse reduction targets,” Cr Makin said.

“There are substantial changeover costs associated with the introduction of new energy efficient street lighting and this presents a significant barrier to the uptake of this technology,” Cr Makin said.

– ENDS –