By-election

ASK THE STATE CANDIDATES
Tim Holding, our elected State representative, has resigned. There will be a by-election for the seat of Lyndhurst on 27th April 2013 . The LRA invited local residents to suggest which questions they might wish to be put to the candidates. The below list of questions summarises the responses we received. All these questions have been submitted to each of the candidates. Any candidate responses received are provided below. The candidates are identified here .

NOTE: Click on the links down the left to see the responses categorised by question and by candidate.

Time left to vote
[ujicountdown id=”Lyndhurst by-election” expire=”2013/04/27 18:00″ hide = “true”]

• There appears to be an increase in anti social behaviours locally. We rely on Police based almost 10 Km away who have the attitude when issues are reported that they will send some one if and when they can, we are also waiting for PSO’s to be posted at the Lynbrook train station. What steps will you and your party be taking to ensure public safety is maintained in our area?

-What drives people to anti-social behaviour?
-Why do we have an increase of anti-social behaviour?
-Will a bigger police presence prevent anti-social behaviour?

I believe we need to look at the community programs available to the people of Lyndhurst. I believe the increase in anti-social behaviour is due to a few factors:

– Lack of activities for our young people;
– Lack of support services for the community;
– Lack of skills training centres
– Lack of community events;

I do not believe that a bigger police presence will reduce anti-social behaviour, it will only push the problem to another location – and obviously none of us want that to occur. What we need are activities, support and skills training for our young people. We also need community events so they can showcase their talents to the community.

• It’s fantastic to see so many new early learning centres, kindergartens and primary schools in the area. Unfortunately, no new secondary colleges have been built in the area and I am unaware of any plans to build one in our area in the future. At the moment, our primary schools are very bottom heavy, but as these little ones reach secondary school age, I fear that Lyndhurst will not have the capacity to take in the numbers they may be faced with. I am equally concerned by stories from parents who have had negative experiences with Lyndhurst Secondary College (I am yet to hear any positive stories). It is also concerning that many parents would rather move suburb than be faced with the prospect of sending their children to Lyndhurst Secondary. There needs to be another option, as not all parents can afford the alternative of private schools.

• Would like to see some action regarding secondary high school.

• I want to know who will fight for the Hallam Rd Tip to be closed as soon as possible, and a new tip site built right away from residential areas.
• The Hallam Rd. tip has been an ongoing concern for many of the local residents. Sita and the EPA have made an enforceable undertaking in relation to the issues at the landfill. However recently there have been some issues arising again. How will you ensure that the issues that have occurred previously are not repeated?
• We need more pressure from the Government on the operations of the local Hallam Rd Hampton Park Landfill. There have been improvements since the Enforceable Undertaking but we need someone that shows real interest in the concerns our residents have regarding the odours emanating from the Landfill and any other possible health concerns. Does the candidate have as much interest in this issue as the residents?
• A soil processing plan has been approved for the Taylors Rd. prescribed waste facility, however the EPA continues to grant exemptions on contaminated soils, allowing these soils to be used in inappropriate ways or covered with concrete which could cause issues for future generations. How will you support a local employer and ensure that contaminated soils are properly treated?

• I successfully proposed a 2 year closure on the LYNDHURST Landfill in 2001 & 2002, when previously there was none and it was then supposed to close in 2007. This was determined in conjunction the management of the Landfill, Council, the EPA and State Government.  

• I also fought and overturned the works approval for the Height extension of the Lyndhurst landfill and had the height extension squashed. This was also done in conjunction with the management of Sita, the EPA and the state Government.  

• Together with Mr. Stuart Marriner and the members of RATWISE as the then chair woman we successfully campaigned Council to fund the cost of testing the validity of our claim that the landfill was in fact in breach of section 11 of its then planning permit which clearly stated that the landfill was a domestic waste landfill and was not permitted to receive any hazardous waste. Council funded this and as chairperson of the Residents Against Toxic Waste in The South East we participated in representing this matter at VCAT and were vindicated on the 11thof July 2006 when VCAT ruled that the tip was in fact in breach of its planning permit and ordered the use to cease and the city of Greater Dandenong to impose an infringement. This did not eventuate as the ALP state Government of the day called the matter in and ruled that it remain Victoria’s Haz waste landfill tinn 2020 in early 2007.

• I also participated as an independent submitter into the Nowinji process to determine a good environmental plan for the above ground containment of Victoria’s Hazardous wastes this was successfully completed. However all this become history when the ALP government decided to extend the life of the landfill for 20 years irrespective of the ruling obtained at VCAT and not act on the Nowinji determination.  

• I also  campaigned with and assisted the residents of Willow Lodge to obtain Pedestrian Access Flashing lights on the busy four lane Frankston Dandenong Road via the Black Spot Funding and had the village connected to mains gas with residents having the choice to be connected as a cheaper alternative to the bottled gas for washing and cooking that previously was not available.  

• Similarly if elected I will continue to be a local voice representing local issues for local solutions in the Victorian State Parliament. I will as the member for Lyndhurst do my best to factor in closure on the Lyndhurst Toxic and Hazardous waste landfill and advocate for a state of the art above ground Hazardous waste managing facility for Victoria elsewhere on crown land with suitable buffers far away from residential and other environmental risks to ground water and air pollution I will put a stop to ad hoc irregular  rezoning and planning amendments for offensive industrial purposes.

• Most days, my husband and I have to use the intersection of Hallam Road/South Gippsland Highway/Evans Road. To go along with the actual accidents that occur on a regular basis, I have witnessed countless dangerous occurrences/near misses that no doubt go unrecorded but nevertheless are evidence that this intersection is very dangerous and urgently needs upgrading before another person dies. I am lead to understand that the upgrade of this intersection is tied in with the upgrade of both Hallam Road and Evans Road. What concerns me is that funding has not been agreed upon for the Evans Road upgrade (a road that was only meant to be closed a matter of months, not years). Will our new MP fight to see that both the above mentioned intersection and Evans Road are upgraded in the very near future, working with local council to achieve this goal?

• How do they plan to improve the train service in the area, with only a single track between Dandenong and cranbourne the service is failing people in this growth area. How will they push for a second track?
• What is going to be done to connect Lynbrook with Lyndhurst and when? Eg: Evans Rd or Alymer Rd?
• Railway underpass at Aylmer Rd?
• I would like to know each candidates stance on a rail line to Melbourne Airport?
• Would like to know the impact of the Hasting Port development on Lynbrook. In particular the rail line from Hastings to Melbourne and where the line will be and how it might impact Lynbrook.
• The South Gippsland Highway and South Gippsland Freeway / Mooroduc Freeway intersection and on and off ramp area is a complete mess. The design is outdated, dangerous and doesn’t handle the current amount of traffic. This is becoming an extremely dangerous intersection. What will you be doing to improve the current situation so this area can be made safer for local residents?
• What is your position on the opening of Evans Road?

• The outgoing Tim Holding MP has been quite invisible to this part of his electorate, especially since he has been in opposition. Will the new candidate, regardless of whether they are in opposition, in government or on the cross bench do more to engage this part of his electorate?

• Since moving to this area 20 years ago, so much agricultural/food producing land has been swallowed up by urban growth. I would be interested to hear what the prospective candidates views are on food security in this electorate and how much is going to be done to limit further encroachment on Casey’s richly productive farm land?

• I would like to know what they felt was the most important issues for Lynbrook. After all, they want the job, they should know.

1. Community health;
2. Drug and alcohol;
3. Education;

I believe that when people are sick, they should not be put on a waiting list for 4-10 weeks to see a physio, or receive podiatry or rehabilitation. People who wish to see the dentist for a general check-up could wait for 2.5-3 years. The current healthcare system is not helping the sick and is an inefficient waste of the healthcare budget. I would like to see the Springvale community health centre upgraded. I also want another community health centre to be built in the region of Lynbrook to accommodate the growing population in that area and reduce waiting lists.I am working in a drug and alcohol program and would like to spearhead a new treatment program that involves better support, more training to build the client’s confidence and skills and mandatory rehabilitation. In this way we can save more lives and better treat people that are addicted to drugs or alcohol.I would like to see appropriate class sizes throughout Victoria. I would also like to see all classrooms and facilities modernised and expanded in line with population size and student need.

• What is their plan for the major problem of teen suicide in Casey area?