Ms THEOPHANOUS (Northcote): I am very pleased to be speaking in support of this bill, the Transport Legislation Miscellaneous Amendments Bill 2021. There are many varied and worthwhile aspects to this bill, which makes substantive improvements to the safety and operation of our state’s transport networks, but there is one particular part of this bill which has great significance to my own community, and this is the section of the bill that I would like to focus on as it might not be covered in depth by others. I am speaking of course about the Alphington link to the Darebin Yarra Trail and the part of this bill which brings us another step closer to delivering on that vital local link. It may seem a small feature of a bill which covers so many other reforms to our road safety, bus safety and other transport acts, but it is a small feature which will have a big impact on people living in my electorate of Northcote and in particular the southern part of the electorate covering Alphington and Fairfield.

I note that the member for Euroa took some issue with us speaking about the government’s Big Build as part of this legislation, so perhaps for her benefit I will spend some time explicating exactly why this seemingly small amendment will have a big impact for the electorate of Northcote and how it relates to some of our other big infrastructure projects.

In April 2018 the spectacular Darebin Yarra Trail link was opened to the public thanks to an $18 million investment by the Andrews Labor government. This spectacular 3-metre-wide trail traverses Darebin Creek from Ivanhoe through Alphington and Kew and connects up to the Main Yarra Trail. It is an impressive piece of engineering, with three bridges across Darebin Creek and another across the Yarra. It is truly a big build, as it were. It is a beautifully executed project in a complex and environmentally sensitive location, but somehow this immense structure blends seamlessly into the riverside landscape and is truly something to behold. For those of you who have not walked or cycled the trail, I highly recommend it. I know my friend the member for Ivanhoe is a regular cyclist along there.

It is important to note that the opening of this trail was the culmination of years of dedicated work across the cycling community and residents as well as within government. It came up against significant resistance at a local council level, but there were champions along the way who fought hard to make it a reality. In particular I want to thank the former Minister for Roads and Road Safety, the member for Narre Warren North, for his role in seeing the link finished and for championing its next phase, because Alphington residents have long pushed for there to be another chapter in this extraordinary story, and that is the Alphington link or the Farm Road link to the Darebin Yarra Trail. The situation is this: although the residents of Alphington can admire the trail, which winds through their suburb, they have no safe and direct way to access the trail. Residents must either travel north to enter through Sparks Reserve in Ivanhoe or south via Willsmere Park in Kew East. For many this means travelling along the busy Heidelberg Road, an option that is neither convenient nor particularly safe, especially for the many schoolchildren who make this journey. Having grown up in Alphington, I know this stretch of road and this area very well and I know how busy the roads can get at peak times. On a bike this stretch can be difficult to manage and to navigate, especially as you cross the much narrower and more exposed Darebin Creek Bridge along Heidelberg Road to enter Ivanhoe. This is not even to mention the extra travel time and the distance for residents wanting to get onto that trail. The countless conversations that I have had with locals over the past two years since the completion of the Darebin Yarra Trail have only reinforced for me the necessity of a safer, more direct route for local cyclists and pedestrians.

In recognition of the value of building a new local link, in 2017 the Andrews Labor government committed to making it happen, and since being elected I have been working with the community and within government to deliver on that promise. It has not been a straightforward matter by any stretch, and the community of Alphington have been incredibly patient as we worked through some of the complications and the limitations of building a connection. In 2018 we undertook a range of community engagements to inform technical development of plans, designs and options, and we set up a stakeholder reference group. Ultimately the most direct route for the Alphington link goes through a parcel of land privately owned by the Latrobe Golf Club. This will make for the safest, most accessible and most functional connection for pedestrians and cyclists and greatly enhance the cycling corridor in Melbourne’s inner north. Various topography and engineering issues have been canvassed by the Department of Transport, as well as discussions around the availability and the ownership of the land.

We can now move this project forward, and this bill is a critical part of that. The land where the Alphington link is due to be built is subject to the Cultural and Recreational Lands Act 1963, which provides that the land be acquired by agreement or by an act that authorises compulsory acquisition for specified purposes. The bill before us authorises compulsory acquisition of the land for the Alphington link project by amendment to the Road Management Act 2004. This milestone is vital in streamlining the process to deliver this project and ensuring that works get underway as soon as possible. Our government has already invested $9.1 million to plan and develop the link. That design work is well underway and will be able to be advanced once we have certainty around the provisions contained in this bill. It includes the construction of a 4-metre-wide bridge that will take pedestrians and cyclists safely over part of the golf course onto the Darebin Yarra Trail. Community feedback will play an important role in the development of the Alphington link, and I look forward to sharing designs and hearing directly from my community later this year about how we can get the very best outcomes out of this remarkable project.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved in advocating for the Darebin Yarra Trail and the Alphington link over the years, as well as everyone who has worked together and alongside me to progress it. This includes the Bicycle Network as well as the community coalition incorporating Alphington Primary School; Friends of Darebin Creek; the South Alphington & Fairfield Civic Association; the Darebin Bicycle User Group, Yarra Bicycle Users Group and Boroondara Bicycle Users Group; the Darebin Creek Management Committee; the Darebin Parklands Association; Kew High School; and the Boroondara Bushwalkers. A big shout-out as well goes to local Alphington resident James Thyer, who has been a strong and determined voice for his community. James and I have had many conversations over the past couple of years in our joint efforts to make sure this project gets the attention it deserves, and I know it has been a long time coming.

The proactive and positive engagement and passion shown by residents and community groups has been instrumental, so to them I say thank you. I would also like to acknowledge the Latrobe Golf Club for their ongoing engagement on this issue as we work through a complex set of circumstances. And finally I want to share my thanks with the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, his office and his department, who have worked with me to support the delivery of this important project as well as with his predecessor, the former Minister for Roads in the other place, who progressed it prior, and the member for Ivanhoe, who has stood side by side with me on keeping this at the front of the agenda.

I cannot overstate how important this link will be to the everyday lives of so many in my community. This new link will provide Alphington residents with access to more than 600 kilometres of off-road trails and provide a safer option for people commuting and recreationally cycling as well as schoolchildren travelling across our suburbs to the city and other centres. It is a key part of our broader work to improve active transport networks and give more people the opportunity to cycle to where they need to go.

In the same vein the Andrews Labor government has also begun rolling out 100 kilometres of new and improved cycling routes across key inner-city suburbs to make it easier for people to cycle to the CBD. In the Northcote electorate this has included pop-up bike lanes along Heidelberg Road, and two more road treatments are set to roll out soon, the Darebin and Yarra connectors and the St Georges Road off-road routes. These are really important improvements to our networks, and we know that cycling is a way of life for so many in my community.

Having worked closely with our community and businesses around the Heidelberg Road pop-up designated bike lane, I am very mindful of both the opportunities and the impacts this infrastructure presents to our community. Feedback and input from our residents, road users, cyclists and pedestrians is critical, and I know there will be some adjustments to make these routes even better. In my final moments, as I said, this may be a small amendment among a number, but it is a project that is incredible.