Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Monash Freeway upgrade has been a huge issue in my electorate of La Trobe. So many residents have asked me over the last six months to do something about it, and that is precisely what we are planning to do. Why is it required? Each day in the city of Casey over 46,000 people use the Monash, as well as another 1,300 who travel past the CBD to the western suburbs. These figures do not include those residents living in the Shire of Kardinia or the Yarra Ranges, so the number of people using the Monash every day from my electorate could be increased by another 100,000 people. We need to do something about this, and I raised this issue with the minister Greg Hunt who immediately got behind the proposal. We are now looking at fixing the Monash Freeway, which will be a great initiative for Victoria. I have also raised this issue with Prime Minister Turnbull.

I am distributing a survey in my electorate and I want residents to fill it in for two reasons. First, I need them to show their support that the Monash is a big issue for the residents of La Trobe and in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne. This will put pressure on the state Labor government to also contribute to the funding. Secondly, I want to know about other transport issues which concern residents of La Trobe. We have a Prime Minister who is very interested in addressing their concerns about public transport.