What Can I Do in 2011
There are many ways you can support the 'No Freeway through
Banyule' campaign. Apart from becoming a member of Friends of
Banyule and/or volunteering, one of the most important and
effective things you can do is to contact your Local, State and
Federal representatives and let them know you oppose the proposed
freeway through Banyule. Write letters to our State and
Commonwealth parliamentary representatives for the City of Banyule
and to your local papers and the daily media. Participate and take
action !
State Parliament representatives for Banyule
City
Legislative Council representatives for
Banyule City
Commonwealth Parliament representatives
for Banyule City
The Age - 7 Jan 2011 | Ballieu shelves state transport
plan Along with Protectors of Public Lands,
we are cautiously optimistic that represents the start of an era in
improvments to public transport, the construction of new railway
lines and increased use of rail for freight transport, not
roads.
Please write to Premier Ted Ballieu and Transport Minister
Terry Mulder welcoming the review.
Note from Friends of
Banyule: The former Labor
government announced during the State election campaign in
2010 that $15.4 Million was to be spent on the study for the NE
link Freeway. No public transport improvements or related public
transport network planning was announced for the City of Banyule.
The newly elected Liberal Coalition government is still planning on
proceeding with the study (as at Februray 2011).
STATE PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATIVES
Member for Bundoora
Mr Colin Brookes (ALP)
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Member for Ivanhoe
Mr Anthony Carbines (ALP)

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Electorate office: Suite 14, The Mall, Heidelberg West 3081
Postal address: P.O. Box 314, Heidelberg West 3081
Tel: 9455 3017
Email: anthony.carbines@parliament.vic.gov.au
Anthony Carbines - MP seat of Ivanhoe (Lower House)
I do not support an above ground freeway through Banyule. Action
is required to improve our suburbs and stop trucks using local
roads. We have to make it easier for residents to get between home,
work, school and leisure. The (Brumby) Government proposes a tunnel
between Lower Plenty Road and the Eastern Freeway - the North East
Link. A tunnel would safeguard the Banyule Flats and the Yarra
River from any freeway development. We need community consultation
to assess the tunnel plan. Expansion of public transport remains my
priority. The Smart Bus is a welcome new service. Extra bus and
train services plus the expansion of the bike path network between
Banyule and the city are key projects for Banyule
residents.
Anthony Carbines
Business Hours: (03) 8644 7381
anthony@anthonycarbines.org.au
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Phone Discussion with Mr. Carbines & one
of Friends of
Banyule's members
Mr. Carbines had rung to answer an email I had sent
him some time ago. The email I had sent was critical of Mr.
Carbines and his Government (Labor Party) in relation to the North
East Link, Public Transport and other Banyule community-related
matters.
North East
Link
Mr. Carbines' position on the North East Link
Freeway Project is the same as that of his predecessor, Craig
Langdon, in that he does not and will not support any other form of
freeway, other than a tunnel from Greensborough
Highway to Bulleen Road. The funding for the freeway
project, both State and Federally is not in place and is likely to
take approximately 1 year. He agreed that there is no guarantee
that the Federal Government will provide funding. He did not have
any thoughts on what would happen if the funding from the Federal
Government was not provided. He stated that if elected he intended
to employ a community-consultative approach regarding the
project.
Rosanna Road
Mr. Carbines agreed that the population growth
which Melbourne is likely to experience in the next 10-15 years
will certainly impact further on the existing traffic conditions on
major roads such as Rosanna Road. He seemed uneasy on this point
and when pressed, he could not provide any details for measures to
fix the problem, other than stating that he thought the camber on
the road at the junction of Greensborough Highway and Lower Plenty
Road had led to cars running into houses (I'm sure it was a truck).
One thing Mr. Carbines didn't say, was that
he agreed with curfews or even banning trucks from using Rosanna
Road.
Public
Transport
When asked his opinion on supporting a Light Rail
System along the Eastern Freeway Mr. Carbines inferred he was not
interested in projects which do not fall within his Ivanhoe
Electorate. When further pressed on the matter and as means
of demonstrating to his constituents that he had concern
for the wider Melbourne community and would support any project
which would alleviate traffic congestion, Mr. Carbines said he
would prefer to push for the duplication of the Hurstbridge Rail
Line as more of a priority.
On buses Mr. Carbines agreed that a smaller more
agile fleet of buses would better suit our community streets
and perhaps offer better services, though he was non-committal
in suggesting he would support such an initiative. He said he would
giving his support for bus services as a whole to be more frequent
and also to cover a wider range of drop-off options, using the
Rosanna Station as an example of the current inflexible options for
travellers to reach other stations, such as Heidelberg. He went on
to say that he thought Viewbank was a suburb in particular which
had poor services, whereas the services in West Heidelberg were of
a higher standard. He did not commit to any plan for improving the
bus services but did say that other suburbs around Melbourne were
also fighting to get better services and his Government would have
to address them all in good time and within the constraints of
their yearly budgets.
Legislative Council Members for the Northern
Metropolitan Region
Ms Jenny Mikakos (ALP)
Hon. Matthew Guy (Liberal)

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Electorate office: 56 Beetham Parade, Rosanna 3084
Tel: 9457 5328
Email: MatthewGuy@parliament.vic.gov.au
Matthew Guy is also Minister for Planning in the Victorian
Government
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Mr Nazih Elasmar (ALP)
Mr Greg Barber (Greens)
Mr Craig Ondarchie (Liberal)

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Elected MLC for Northern Metropolitan November 2010.
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COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATIVE
Member for Jagajaga
Hon. Jenny Macklin (ALP)

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Electorate office: 149 Burgundy Street, Heidelberg 3084
Postal address: P.O. Box 316, Heidelberg, VIC 3084
Tel: (03) 9459 1411, (02) 6277 7560
Email: JMacklin.MP@aph.gov.au
Web: www.jennymacklin.net.au/
Jenny Macklin is also the Minister for Families, Housing,
Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
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Council Elections
A by-election for Olympia Ward will be held in March following
the resignation of Councillor Anthony Carbines from Banyule City
Council on 3 December. Read more on the VEC website ... >
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