With the State Election looming, Casey Council is ramping up a transport-focused advocacy campaign, pushing major projects including the Clyde rail extension, Thompsons Road upgrades and improved bus services.
The agenda marks a scale-up from the community-level funding wins secured during last year’s Federal Election to far larger infrastructure ambitions.
“We hear from residents the challenges of getting in and out of their communities and the lack of some of the transport links that we need,” Mayor Cr Stefan Koomen told Star News.
“The key ones, obviously, everyone’s aware of Clyde Rail where we are seeking an extension,” he said, adding that Thompsons Road duplication and extension and a stronger bus network were also central priorities.
The Clyde rail extension, which would extend the Cranbourne line to Clyde and build three new stations (Cranbourne East, Casey Fields, and Clyde), estimated to cost about $2 to $3 billions, has been on the Council’s advocacy agenda for more than a decade.
It has been thrown around in multiple State Election campaigns without ever being delivered.
Cr Koomen said there was no expectation Casey ratepayers would help fund the project.
“At that level, it’s a key bit of infrastructure that would be funded by the State, and potentially, it could seek Federal contributions too,” he said.
When asked if the advocacy would contain detailed stage plans and the corresponding costings, Cr Koomen said those are not something that the council produces, but they are keen to support it.
“We’re going to be pushing for work on that. But ultimately, they are decisions made at other levels of government,” he said.
“What we’re going to be doing is making sure that our residents’ voices are heard on that.”
Council is also pushing for the Thompsons Road extension, which Cr Koomen described as a vital arterial linking Casey to Cardinia, Greater Dandenong and future employment precincts near Officer.
The project has also been on the Council’s advocacy agenda for a long time, since at least 2016, when Casey and Cardinia jointly lobbied the Federal Government for funding.
It was again predominantly raised by Cardinia Shire ahead of last year’s Federal Election, but no commitment was secured.
“For big projects that are of regional significance, you need to do that to really get it on the agenda,” Cr Koomen said.
“We’re part of the Greater South East Melbourne (GSEM) network, which will also have an advocacy campaign, and also Outer Melbourne Councils, which is another alliance we’re part of that will be doing advocacy as well.
“We’ll be doing a lot this year to try to get investment for Casey.”
Bus services are another focus.
“What we’re looking at is improvements, potential changes to routes, as well as additional services,” Cr Koomen said.
“What we find is that as we grow as a community, there is often a lag between new communities being built and bus services coming in.
“A review and additional services would be a big boost for particular areas in Casey that are under serviced at the moment.
“The idea would be that by getting those bus networks in, people can get around the community without that additional car, so it has an added benefit to the broader road network.”
For this interview, Cr Koomen met Star News at Casey Fields Soccer Pavilion, the home of Melbourne City FC, near the site of the future Mini-Stadium, which was promised $11 million in Federal funding in last year’s election.
Once completed, the stadium will be able to host sporting events with a capacity of up to 5,000 spectators.
Cr Koomen said the location was chosen to demonstrate how coordinated election campaigning can translate into real infrastructure outcomes.
“It was probably one of our biggest achievements last year, securing funding,” he said.
“Cr Melinda Ambrose was key to securing this as well, and with Thompsons Road, we’re going to do the same again.
“We ran a really strong advocacy campaign through both major parties and ended up securing it through the government, which would not have happened without our efforts,” he said.
“It was about just consistent engagement and actually listening and working with both major parties on what their priorities are and making sure they fit in with ours.
“You’ve got to have some flexibility because they hold a lot of the funding, so we need to work with them, and we’ll do that again.
“We’re going to take that same approach this year for the State Election.”
Casey Council will officially launch the State Election advocacy campaign in March.
