Rudd government's spending list

...The PM is looking for nation-building projects that have social and environmental as well as economic benefits.

He has fast-tracked this process so that Infrastructure Australia has a priority list by year's end.

The ideal would be a reduction in greenhouse gases, improved quality of life, increased productivity, increased competitive advantage and the development of cities and regions.

A perfect starting point is Sir Rod Eddington's east-west road tunnel.

Sir Rod also chairs the Infrastructure Australia panel, but undoubtedly will ensure the independence and integrity of the selections for government approval.

In any case, the strategic east-west tunnel project for Melbourne has long had the strong support of the RACV and Victoria's corporate sector.

It ticks all of Mr Rudd's boxes.

It will combat urban congestion and cuts greenhouse gases by ensuring smooth east-west traffic flows.

It will develop the western suburbs, which have fallen behind other parts of Victoria in job creation.

Another project that fits Mr Rudd's criteria includes Eddington's east-west rail tunnel between Footscray and Caulfield, which will take the pressure off Melbourne's public transport system, unclog our roads and reduce greenhouse gases.

Then there's completion of the Frankston bypass, which can be done fairly quickly...

Read the whole article at HeraldSun.com.au

I'd expect nothing less from Wayne Kayler-Thomson, the CEO of the Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI). (*sigh*)

Labor split over new tollway plans - TheAge.com.au

Jason Dowling and Paul Austin

A NEW tollway proposal in Sir Rod Eddington's transport plan for Melbourne has split the Victorian Labor Party's transport policy committee.

The committee's secretary has resigned in disgust at a decision to endorse all 20 recommendations in Sir Rod's report to the State Government, including a new multibillion-dollar road tunnel linking the city's east and west.

The committee's response to the Eddington proposals will be presented to the ALP state conference today, and Premier John Brumby will release his transport plan for Melbourne next month.

The secretary, Pat Love, has written to his committee colleagues, along with Roads Minister Tim Pallas and Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky saying he would bring forward the end of his term because of the committee's support for more freeways.

"Recent decisions of the committee, most importantly the decisions to support all 20 recommendations from the (Eddington) study, prompted me to bring this forward prior to the state conference. I handed my resignation to Kevin Bracken last Monday," he wrote in an email sent on Thursday night and obtained by The Age.

"As you know, I have argued both internally on the committee and externally in public forums that now is not the time to build another road tunnel."

Mr Love, who has been secretary of the committee for three years, said: "If it is implemented by State Government, I firmly believe that it will lead to more long-term problems than solutions for people in Melbourne, and especially the people living in the west."

It was wrong to argue that the "massive expenditure of an 18-kilometre tunnel, whether funded by government or private or both, will solve our congestion problems in the inner west, north and inner east".

"I don't believe it will improve transport options for many people in the west, but will further entrench them in car dependence," Mr Love wrote.

"Overall, it will lead to more greenhouse gas emissions from transport in Melbourne, not less."

Transport is expected to be the subject of passionate debate at today's conference, with one draft resolution accusing the Government of failing "to establish an effective process for the development of transport policy for Melbourne in the wake of the Eddington review".

It says the Government manipulated its consultations with the community about transport policy to prevent many ALP members being involved. The process had degenerated into an exercise "in which people were asked little more than to pick their favourite problem and project".

Other draft resolutions seen by The Age call on the Government to:

• Urgently implement a manufacturing strategy for Victoria "to ensure the ongoing viability of the industry".
• Immediately ban logging in all water catchments.

The keynote speakers at today's conference will be Mr Brumby and Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Read the original article in TheAge.com.au

Tollway alternative part of new roads plan

Clay Lucas and Jason Dowling

A NEW tollway would traverse either semi-rural Warrandyte, or run through the heart of Heidelberg, under controversial plans being devised for the State Government's transport strategy.

The Department of Premier and Cabinet is working with VicRoads on the project, which would see a new tollway connect the Metropolitan Ring Road — which finishes in Greensborough — to either the Eastern Freeway or EastLink.

Secrecy surrounds the Government's transport statement, due out in November.

But Government sources have told The Age the transport team is working on economic analysis of three route options for a major new tollway.

The routes are:

• From Greensborough to the Eastern Freeway, running through Heidelberg; or
• From Greensborough to EastLink in Ringwood, with the road running via Eltham and Warrandyte; or
• Sir Rod Eddington's $9 billion road tunnel route from Clifton Hill to Footscray.

Roads Minister Tim Pallas met financiers Babcock and Brown last month to discuss funding possibilities for new tollways.

The State Government has recently polled residents in Eltham and Warrandyte on their support for a new road link, which would traverse some of the city's most environmentally sensitive areas.

And Government emails obtained by The Age show VicRoads is determined to retain land in Greensborough set aside for the ring road connection.

Nillumbik Council, which covers much of the area a new tollway would run through, opposes the project. Cr Greg Johnson said locals would fight a new freeway connection through the area.

As opposition leader in the 1990s, Premier John Brumby ruled out building a freeway along the proposed Nillumbik route.

"The ALP opposes this road on environmental grounds, and because of the enormous disruption it would cause to property owners whose homes would be demolished," Mr Brumby wrote in a 1995 letter.

One roads industry source said there was still an appetite to build major toll roads, despite the turmoil on financial markets.

And ConnectEast director Max Lay, a former senior VicRoads bureaucrat, said big toll road projects were "seen as a safe harbour for long-term investments".

News of the road plan comes as the Greens today launch their new $14 billion transport plan — along with a marketing campaign targeting Mr Brumby's support for new road infrastructure.

Under the Greens' People Plan, detailed in an extensive new website at www.thepeopleplan.org.au, Melbourne's public transport system would be expanded dramatically. The plan includes new train lines to Doncaster, Mernda, Rowville and Melbourne Airport.

There would also be a major new CBD metro system, with new train stations built in the CBD at Kings Way and St Kilda Road, in the inner north at Parkville, Carlton and Fitzroy, and elsewhere.

And in an attack ad devised by South Melbourne ad agency Cyclone, Mr Brumby is portrayed as a mole, tunnelling to create "a profit plan for political survival".

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

One person's discussion of the Greens' 'The People Plan' is here - http://reubenville.blogspot.com/2008/10/greens-transport-plan.html

The BrumbyMole

Are you eligible to vote?

If you live in the City of Melbourne (which, of course, includes Kensington), you should ensure you are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections. Click here to go to the appropriate page of the City of Melbourne website.

There's now three confirmed candidates, and a recent poll suggest that former State Liberal leader, Robert Doyle, would be a favourite should he put his hand up.

So far, to our knowledge only Adam Bandt (Greens) has released any policies. We'll keep you posted - especially when it comes to the tunnel and the park(s).

Holland Park Alive! - 2008

Put this one in your diaries.

A huge event to celebrate the park, and the new running track will be held on :

Saturday, November 22nd

Starting mid-afternoon, there will be a variety of events, including running tracks circuits (for all sizes of kids and adults), community stalls and demonstrations, food and fun. The YMCA Community Centre will open its doors and it will all end with a movie!

Sounds great? We think so. Take a look for yourself.