By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
THE state opposition has been unable to guarantee public toilets will be built at Hallam train station should it win the November election, despite local members of the party lobbying the government to have them constructed.
During a visit to Hallam station last Thursday, opposition spokeswoman for public transport Jill Hennessy, who was joined by Narre Warren South MP Judith Graley, could not commit to public toilets being built at the site under a Labor government.
“We’ll make all of our election announcements closer to the election day but it’s certainly something that Judith is heavily advocating for,” Ms Hennessy said.
“I can’t make that election commitment today.”
But Ms Hennessy reaffirmed Labor’s promise of removing 14 level crossings under the party’s Project 10,000 plan, which for the City of Casey would include Clyde Road in Berwick, Hallam Road in Hallam and Thompsons Road in Lyndhurst.
Earlier this month the News reported that Narre Warren North and Labor MP Luke Donnellan had again urged the Victorian Government to introduce public toilets at Hallam station.
It was a call echoed by Ms Graley last Thursday.
“They stole our money, it was in the budget,” Ms Graley said.
“They just took it out and used it somewhere else. This station was supposed to get an upgrade, have public toilets and have better facilities for everyone.”
The former Labor government had allocated funding for Hallam station to be upgraded to premium status – which includes public toilets being built at the site – in the 2010 state budget.
No funding to upgrade Hallam station was announced in the Liberal Government’s latest State Budget which was released this month.
And a spokesperson for Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder told the News this month that there were no current plans for the government to upgrade Hallam station to premium status.
This month’s Budget revealed the Liberals’ plans for a $2 billion-plus upgrade of the overcrowded Cranbourne-Pakenham rail corridor, funded under a public-private partnership (PPP).
According to the Budget papers, the state government has allocated just $56 million over four years towards the project, which is estimated to increase the corridor’s capacity by 30 per cent at a cost of $2-2.5 billion.
But recent media reports have suggested the project’s real cost may be bloated to more than $5 billion to the private consortium, which includes Metro Trains.
The repayments are reportedly up to $1 million a day for the next 20 years.
Ms Hennessy slammed the PPP last Thursday, saying the government was attempting to “contract out its responsibilities”.
“This is a contract that they almost have in a black box that no one has the detail of, we can only rely on leaked documents that have been the subject of media reports that tell us how much it’s going to cost,” she said.
“I think that we’ve got every right to be able to raise really significant questions about what is in that contract.”
Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder said taxpayers will not have to pay for the PPP until the project is complete in 2019.
“The project has an estimated cost of $2-2.5 billion.
“The project is currently going through a competitive procurement process which will determine the final cost of the project,” he said.
“The Victorian coalition government will then do an assessment to ensure the project delivers value for money before a contract is signed.”
