Tag: state government
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Launch of Ringwood Going Places
The Minister for Planning, Justin Madden, was in Ringwood today to launch the branding of Ringwood Going Places. The pieces to rejuvenate Ringwood are coming together such as the passing of the precinct plans for the redevelopment of the Town Centre. One significant piece that remains unresolved is Ringwood Station. The redevelopment of the station…
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Maroondah Council commits to the future of the Croydon Outdoor Memorial Pool
Tonight’s council meeting, which marked the first meeting for 2007, included an item of urgent business in relation to the Croydon Outdoor Memorial Pool. In a vote of five against two, Maroondah Council resolved to retain the Memorial Pool and commit to the sourcing of funds to upgrade and reopen the facility. There were three…
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Delegates' report: Welcome to 2007
I would like to begin by thanking the community groups that invited me to their end of year functions. While it may seem like such a long ago it is always good to have an opportunity to reflect on the previous year to ensure the very best for 2007. As we enter 2007 a number…
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ABC 774: Discussing Melbourne's rail delays
Amid further rail interruptions I was invited to speak with Derek Guille on the evening program on ABC 774. This morning during peak-hour there were a number of major delays, with signalling faults affecting Ringwood, Lilydale and Belgrave trains as well as point failures near Caulfield which affected Dandenong, Pakenham, Cranbourne and Frankston trains. This…
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Eastern Transport Coalition – first meeting for 2007
The first meeting for 2007 of the Eastern Transport Coalition was held tonight to begin implementing the groups’ objectives. This includes achieving federal funding for public transport and to participate in the Melbourne 2030 audit to ensure that the State Government invests in much needed public transport infrastructure and further service improvements. The Eastern Transport…
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MAV Transport and Infrastructure Group (Federal Funding) – first meeting for 2007
The MAV’s Transport and Infrastructure Advisory Group (TIAG) consists of councillors and council officers who are preparing a response to the infrastructure needs of Victoria within the context of this year’s Federal Election. To enable this process the group is focusing on three specific areas, of which federal funding for sustainable transport is one of…
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Melbourne 2030 Urban Planning Reference Group
The Melbourne 2030 Urban Planning Reference Group (formerly known as the Melbourne 2030 Councillor Reference Group) is a group consisting of Councillors and Council Officers that is developing a local government wide approach for the Melbourne 2030 audit. Given that Melbourne 2030 has wide reaching ramifications for local councils it is imperative that the local…
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Channel 7: Report on worsening traffic conditions
This evening I was on Channel Seven news commenting on the need for public transport improvements to mitigate Melbourne’s worsening traffic congestion. [flv]http://www.alexmakin.com.au/videos/20070226-ch7-traffic.flv[/flv] Melbourne will continue to experience worsening traffic congestion until the State Government finally provides real transport choice in the form of frequent, readily available, reliable and safe public transport. Rail lines to…
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The Age: A Dad's Army of shunted carriages called up in crisis
In an example of the lack of foresight typical of the former Minister for Transport, Peter Batchelor, The Age has revealed that the State Government has been forced to hire back the non air-conditioned Hitachi trains due to a shortage of rollingstock. The rollingstock shortage has been further compounded due to the withdrawal of 31…
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The Age: Dangerous tracks slow rail speeds on busy lines
The Age has exposed the decrepit state of Melbourne’s rail tracks, amid ongoing negligence by both Connex and the State Government in maintaining Melbourne’s physical rail infrastructure: DANGEROUS tracks and poor maintenance on some of Melbourne’s busiest suburban rail lines are forcing trains to run at speeds as slow as 30 km/h, increasing journey times…