The Victorian Liberal Party has accused the state government of ignoring residents and family concerns in the inner west of Melbourne, as the opening of the West Gate Tunnel looms.
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When the Tunnel opens, thousands of trucks are expected to flood local streets, with residents bracing for a doubling of truck traffic to 4,700 heavy vehicles per day by 2031, as many drivers avoid the tunnel’s $178 daily toll.
The tunnel will introduce 24/7 no-truck zones on six inner-west roads, but thousands of trucks are still expected to flood other local streets where the truck ban does not apply.
Meanwhile, Labor’s planned closure of the Sunshine rail freight corridor threatens a nationally significant logistics hub at Deer Park that could remove 125,000 trucks from our roads every year as well as create more than 23,000 jobs.
Shadow Minister for ports and freight Roma Britnell and member for western metropolitan region Trung Luu met with concerned residents and families to hear their concerns.
“The Government has been told that investing in a simple 400-metre rail link workaround at the Sunshine Superhub could preserve the freight junction, but they are doing nothing,” Britnell says.
“Labor’s lack of interest in the west will mean freight trains from Ballarat will now be forced to travel an extra 47 kilometres via Geelong to reach the Port of Melbourne.
“This is inefficient, economically reckless, and will put more trucks on the road through west Melbourne suburbs.”
Trung Luu says the inner west already suffers from some of the worst truck congestion and air pollution in the state.
“Without rail freight, we’re condemning these communities to more noise, more pollution, and fewer jobs,” she says.
“Labor is taking Melbourne’s inner west for granted. They are not listening to genuine concerns about noise and pollution.”
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