Member for Narracan has welcomed the recent announcement of new town bus services for Drouin and Warragul but said his office had been inundated with contact from residents whose properties would be affected by new stop locations.
‘Warragul and Drouin are growing at a rapid rate and we absolutely need a better town bus services to provide a transport option for those who rely on public transport,’ Mr Blackwood said.
‘I am however greatly concerned at the cloak and dagger approach taken by the Andrews Labor Government in rolling out the changed service and the location of proposed stops.
‘Many local residents have approached my office in recent weeks after having received letters detailing that a bus stop would be installed outside their home, in many cases impacting access to their property.
‘Ms Shing, Labor Member for Eastern Region, when announcing this expansion said ‘extensive community consultation’ had been taken during the planning for these upgrades, yet none of the local residents who will be impacted have told me they were consulted.
‘In 2015 the Andrews Labor Government held just a single workshop in Warragul as part of its Regional Network Development Plan, then more than a year later released a 56 page ‘Plan’ that had no detail about how services could be improved and actually incorrectly stated that Drouin had an existing town bus service.
‘This is symptomatic of the Andrews Labor Government when they claim they have extensively consulted with the local community when in reality they have not even contacted the residents who will be directly affected.
‘I urge the Andrews Labor Government to actually listen to those residents who will be impacted and consult with properties before the roll out of these bus stops proceeds any further,’ Mr Blackwood said.
