Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to address the way forward for the wonderful town of Balnarring in my electorate of Flinders. Balnarring is a town on the edge of Western Port. It is a beautiful town, it has great history to it and it has wonderful people. It has as its centre point the Balnarring Primary School as well as the shopping centre. It is a semirural town. There is obviously a congregated township itself but there are many people on nearby farms and in farming communities.

I want to propose three things which will be vital for the health and wellbeing of Balnarring as we go forward. The first is a very simple one. It is a lovely idea put forward by students in the area, recognising that they themselves do not want to impinge upon the good order and the safety of people who visit the local shopping centre. Students have come to me through Braydon Patterson, who is a young secondary student living in Balnarring. Braydon wrote to me seeking support for a skate park in Balnarring. It is a simple idea and one which is achievable.

I have approached the council on his behalf and I am going to hold a meeting with students and Braydon. We will work until we receive support for and achieve the goal of a skate park for the teenagers and young adults of Balnarring. They deserve it. I ask that they themselves work towards this goal and I think together we should be able to achieve it. It is not in the impossible category of asks. I am hopeful that the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council will be supportive and hopeful that the local community bank, Bendigo Bank, will also be supportive. There are other opportunities for working with Lions, Rotary and like-minded community organisations. I want to congratulate Braydon and those students who are working with him on a simple but constructive initiative.

The second thing I want to raise here is something which is likely to help both senior citizens and others within Balnarring. I have been approached by Douglas Slattery, who is the secretary treasurer of the Balnarring Senior Citizens Club. He is seeking assistance with a petition for a pedestrian crossing in Balnarring. The petition reads as follows:

The residents from the electorates of Hastings and Flinders draw to the attention of the House the urgent need for a pedestrian crossing starting from Balnarring shopping centre car park across Frankston-Flinders Road to the Balnarring community hall, kindergarten and preschool centres.

What we see here is that there are many needs and uses for this pedestrian crossing. I know the road well. The Frankston-Flinders Road carries many out-of-town visitors and it is the primary route for those travelling to the southern peninsula and towns such as Shoreham, Merricks and Flinders. Many parents who are escorting their young children to the playground or kindergarten and seniors who are crossing back from the hall face a risk. It is an unnecessary risk and one which could be avoided.

I have petitioned VicRoads. I would like VicRoads to come to the party and recognise that it is a dangerous road. It is a danger that we want to address before tragedy strikes. Too often dangerous sites are identified and addressed by the community but not addressed by the authorities and it is only after tragedy that action is taken. This is one occasion where the danger has been foreseen and there can be no excuse or justification for failing to act.

I am very complimentary of VicRoads. I have found them an extremely good organisation with which to work. Successive CEOs have been highly responsible. The corporate structure in which much of the work is outsourced, with VicRoads acting as an overseer, has been extremely effective. I would respectfully say to the CEO of VicRoads, Mr Gary Liddle, for whom I have the highest regard, ‘Please consider the pedestrian crossing for Frankston-Flinders Road in Balnarring. It is an important way to protect and preserve the livelihood and health of our community in advance, rather than after a human tragedy.

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