Hannah Hammoud
Brimbank council will lobby for state and federal funding for investment in a range of “much needed” infrastructure projects to meet the forecast population growth of Melbourne’s west.
Both the 2024-25 state and federal budgets are due to be released in May and council has said it will continue to call for funding for projects that are “most desperately needed” by the Brimbank community.
“Such investments will also go a long way to addressing the various challenges faced by our residents, including inadequate access to public transport, high unemployment rate, poor health indicators and concerning levels of psychological distress,” Brimbank mayor Ranka Rasic said.
Projects and priority areas which require state and federal government funding include the construction of the Melbourne Airport Rail, the implementation of the first stage of the Sunshine Station Masterplan, construction of high quality pedestrian and cycle crossing points under Ballarat Road and across the railway in Albion Quarter, upgrading Foundry and Harvester Roads for pedestrians and cyclists to create a high quality CBD streetscape and link to Albion Station and Albion Quarter, and the creation of a co-working/arts hub at Sunshine Technical School.
Also included in council’s wish list for state and government funding are more investment for mental health services and health programs, improvements to parks and community facilities, improvements to pedestrian and cyclist safety as well as road safety initiatives.
Council will continue to build on its long-time advocacy for the ‘Fix the Calder’ campaign and once again request funding for the construction of a full diamond interchange at the intersection of Calder Freeway and Calder Park Drive as well as upgrading the Calder Freeway between the Western Ring
Road (M80) and the Melton Highway to bring it up to freeway standard by adding lanes from Keilor Park Drive to Melton Highway and widening the Maribyrnong River Bridge.
Council has detailed the need for climate emergency support infrastructure, including a solar farm in Sunshine Energy Park, a Sustainability Hub, community batteries and a storm water harvesting system at Green Gully Reserve.
Council will also look to tackle homelessness, housing and unemployment struggles within the municipality, including the provision of additional social housing and service coordination for people at risk of experiencing homelessness.
“Brimbank’s full potential can only be realised when all three levels of government are working together to ensure that the municipality is receiving the necessary levels of investment to sustain the rapid population growth of Melbourne’s west,” Cr Rasic said.
