The Committee for Gippsland has acknowledged the recommendations contained in the latest Infrastructure Victoria 30 year strategy. “It is pleasing to note that projects the Committee for Gippsland has long been pushing, such as a bypass for Traralgon are now on the agenda, but it is also clear Gippsland needs to have a much more robust and visible presence in Infrastructure Victoria’s vision for the next 30 years,” said CEO of the Committee for Gippsland Mary Aldred.
Potential projects identified that the Committee for Gippsland has welcomed include a bypass for Traralgon, expanded coach services for towns including Orbost, and the need to replace ageing bridge assets such as the Avon River Bridge at Stratford.
“Infrastructure Victoria has identified the objective of having Vline passenger rail services operating five times a day, five days a week on the Bairnsdale line, and the Committee for Gippsland urges that five times a day, five days a week mean by train, not a mix of train and bus services,” added Ms Aldred.
“East Gippsland residents need certainty and reliability from their public transport services. Many people rely on the service to access education and employment. It is a vital service to enhance the liveability of the region,” added Ms Aldred.
Identifying the need to increase intra and inter town bus services in the region is also welcomed, as this is essential public transport for residents commuting within and between Gippsland towns.
Carbon transitioning in the Latrobe Valley is a highlighted section of the report, and the Committee for Gippsland is encouraged to note Infrastructure Victoria’s observation that; Brown coal is, however, a cheap and abundant resource in Victoria and complying with new policies and international expectations will require a well-managed transition that minimises impacts on electricity prices. Impacts on communities in the Latrobe Valley will also require careful consideration.
“Carbon transitioning in the Latrobe Valley requires government to have a strategy to deal with the impact on jobs and local businesses, but more broadly, the impact to the national electricity market, and potential electricity price rises,” added Ms Aldred.
“Infrastructure Victoria should be responding to an impending transition in the Latrobe Valley by supporting the identification of an immediate pipeline of infrastructure projects to push forward with, and the Committee for Gippsland would be keen to work with Infrastructure Victoria in this task,” added Ms Aldred.
Population growth in Melbourne is strongly acknowledged in the report, but there is less appreciation of its impact and the way government should be responding in regional areas. There are examples where the report has tied population growth with the need to invest in metropolitan hospitals, but not regional hospitals.
“The West Gippsland Hospital in Baw Baw Shire is a prime example of a hospital that is having to respond to rapid population growth in a regional area, and this should have been better reflected in Infrastructure Victoria’s strategy,” said Ms Aldred.
There is also the acknowledgement of rail to port infrastructure, and in that context the broader question of a second container port for Victoria. The Committee for Gippsland strongly believes that the Port of Hastings needs to be developed as that second container port.
The Committee for Gippsland acknowledges the coverage of a broad range of issues contained in the report.
“While the raft of issues covered in the report are important, so too is the need for Infrastructure Victoria to remain focussed on infrastructure as an economic driver. For regions like Gippsland, infrastructure is the main game. It is a primary enabler of productivity and jobs, and that needs to remain at the forefront of Infrastructure Victoria’s future focus,” said Ms Aldred.