Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Industrial Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I refer to some of the issues I have to deal with in my own electorate, I associate myself with the sentiments expressed by the member for Melbourne Ports about the tragic death of Brendan Keilar and pass on my heartfelt condolences to his wife, his three children and other family members and friends. It was an awful shock not only to those close to him but also to people who live in Melbourne and indeed people across the country. We should certainly not forget his heroic efforts in seeking to assist somebody who was clearly in great peril.

I draw the parliament’s attention to a concern I have about the failure of the Commonwealth to construct three flyover intersections on the Calder Highway. The electorate of Gorton has two major transport spines. One is the Western Highway, which runs from Melbourne to Ballarat. The other is the Calder Highway, which runs from Melbourne through my electorate to Bendigo and beyond—a very important transport link. Unfortunately there are three intersections that have been waiting for some time to be upgraded so they are not at ground level with the freeway. We have intersections less than 15 and 20 kilometres from the CBD that are at ground-level intersection with a freeway. These ground-level intersections not only cause danger; they ultimately cause the loss of life because of the awful accidents that have occurred with traffic coming off those roads onto the freeway, in most instances, and being hit by oncoming traffic.

I am hoping that we can actually see the end to these fatalities and injuries and I think it is now very important for the Minister for Transport and Regional Services to consider applying the money that was promised. We have the state government already committing to half the cost, although it is a Commonwealth responsibility. All we now require is the Howard government to commit to the second half and we can have those intersections built in a reasonable period of time, which will of course mitigate the likelihood of injury or death on the roads in this area.

I also make this call to the Minister for Small Business and Tourism, Fran Bailey, who is in an electorate close to Gorton—her constituents travel through my electorate. They of course are potential victims of this problem, and I do call upon her in particular to ask the Howard government to fund the construction of these very important intersections. (Time expired)