Ms THEOPHANOUS (Northcote): My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure. The action that I seek is for the minister to assist in having the parcel of land known as the Fulham Grange spur in Alphington remediated and the pedestrian pathway reopened to connect residents north and south. The Fulham Grange spur is a vacant parcel of land which runs from the corner of Heidelberg and Grange roads through to Railway Place south of the railway line. The site is owned by VicTrack and has for the duration of the Chandler Highway upgrade and Grange Road level crossing removal been used by the Level Crossing Removal Authority (LXRA) as a work site. The land, while not formally a park, has for many years been maintained by local residents and included a pedestrian pathway connecting Wingrove Street in the north to Hanslope Avenue in the south. This path was a vital link between Alphington and Fairfield Village and surrounding areas. The site will be increasingly important as a corridor for cyclists and pedestrians once the Amcor development is complete and important in reducing traffic congestion on Heidelberg Road, Grange Road and surrounds. Partway through the Grange Road and Chandler Highway works, the LXRA closed off access to the site. In the short time that I have been the member for Northcote I have met with local residents and advocated to Darebin council, VicTrack and the LXRA for the path through the spur to be reopened as quickly as possible. It has been disappointing to hear from locals about the inaction of the Greens-dominated Darebin council in responding to their concerns—radio silence for 18 months until I met with them to raise this issue. It is easy to stir noise in the community—the Greens are good at that—but actually delivering for the community takes effort. That is what I am committed to doing. Let us not forget that the Chandler Highway upgrade and the Grange Road level crossing removal are two projects that have been delivered by a Labor government for the people of Northcote through the work of Labor members and despite opposition from the Greens. Now that the Chandler Highway works are nearing completion—it swells me with pride to even say those words, so I will say them again: now that the Chandler Highway works are nearing completion I ask for the assistance of the Minister for Transport Infrastructure to reinstate this vital pathway for our community. In my meetings with VicTrack I am informed that they are awaiting the land being handed back to them from the lessee, LXRA. From my conversation with LXRA they state that the handover to VicTrack is imminent. I also understand from local residents that there is some remediation of the land required before the path can be reopened. As the minister with overarching responsibility for these two agencies, I ask that the Minister for Transport Infrastructure initiate action by these agencies to have the land remediated and the path reopened. In the moment or two I have left, I commend the minister, on behalf of my community, for the new Chandler Highway bridge. What an achievement.
