By Fatima Halloum
An organiser of a public transport community forum aiming to better services in the municipality have called out the Labor state government for not attending.
Friends of the Earth Melbourne held the Better Buses for Wyndham Community Forum on October 12, at the Tarneit Community Centre.
Representatives from key stakeholder groups, including elected representatives and candidates were invited to share their transport strategies and priorities for public transport.
FoE Melbourne sustainable cities community organiser Elyse Cunningham said representatives from the Greens , Victorian Socialists, Liberal Party and independents were in attendance but the group were “pretty disappointed” a Labor representative had not attended.
“We thought it was a pretty solid example that they don’t think they need to come to these things and show up for the community,” Ms Cunningham said.
“People in the west have become quite disillusion with the government and are like ‘yeah, this is what we expect’.
Ms Cunningham said most Labor candidates and elected officials did let the group know they wouldn’t be able to attend, but she was “really hopeful” a representative would endeavour to attend the next public transport forum.
“The government is there to serve the community and represent and advocate for the community’s needs, not to ignore them,” she said.
Werribee MP Tim Pallas was unable to attend the forum due to prior commitments but provided a detailed brief on the government’s bus plan and actions.
“There’s always more to do and we’ll keep delivering for our growing community,” Mr Pallas said.
Tarneit MP Sarah Connolly was contacted for comment.
FoE Melbourne have been campaigning for improved access to bus services in Wyndham, which typically run every 30 minutes.
Ms Cunningham believes the government would have benefited from hearing the stories of community members, including transport tales that highlighted accessibility struggles, students not having access to schools or potential jobs, and sporting facilities being unreachable by public transport.
“What we want to see is a change from the long winding lines that we’ve got now, into a simple grid so that buses can run down main roads, which will allow them to come every 10 minutes,” Ms Cunningham said.
“We want to see them serviced by clean, electric, vehicles so that they can be powered by renewable energy.”
The next forum, titled ‘Transforming Transport in the West’ will be held in Spotswood, Wednesday, October 26, from 6-9.30pm.
Details: www.melbournefoe.org.au/events
