By Belinda Nolan
MARIBYRNONG residents have hit out at the State Government after being excluded from a transport round table held in Footscray last Tuesday.
Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky chaired the forum, ahead of the State Government’s Transport Plan, to be released in November.
The round table was intended to provide the government with a more localised transport discussion, but residents say they weren’t invited.
Seddon’s Adam Shepard said he had not heard about the round table, despite being actively involved in transport issues and keeping regular contact with Member for Footscray Marsha Thomson and the Department of Transport.
“I’ve sent numerous emails, they have my contact details, yet I was totally unaware that this had occurred,” he said.
“It’s unbelievable.”
It wasn’t only residents who were overlooked.
Greens MLC Colleen Hartland was also snubbed for an invitation but said she was not surprised to have been excluded from the event.
“At the public meeting … I attended on Tuesday night, I asked if anyone had been invited and nobody had.
“There were 300 people there and many of them had made submissions to the process.”
Ms Hartland said there appeared to be a lack of information surrounding the event.
“I’m always a bit worried when I hear about consultation by invitation only,” she said.
Footscray resident Linda Cargill said she was angry she wasn’t informed about the event.
“I’m really cross,” she said. “I’m really upset about it. I think it’s rude not to invite the community.
“I can’t see why they wouldn’t just contact anyone who identified themselves as living in Footscray who made a submission (to the Eddington report) and invite them to come along; it’s just ridiculous.”
Best for the West Action Group’s Bruce Light, said the lack of an invite had not deterred him from attending the forum.
Mr Light said he’d contacted the Premier’s office on 31 July, asking to be admitted to the round table.
He got no reply until after the event, but attended anyway.
The community activist said although between 60 and 70 people attended the round table, few appeared to be from the local community.
Maribyrnong Truck Action Group secretary Martin Wurt said although he had been invited to the round table, he remained unimpressed with its outcomes.
“I just felt cynical,” Mr Wurt said.
“In terms of the issues that were raised, they were pretty much the issues that were raised at other forums I went to. We need real action, we don’t need all this discussion.”
A state government spokesperson said 157 invitations had been sent out to local councils and peak groups ahead of the round table.
Of that number, only 12 to 15 were to individuals within the community.
The spokesman was unable to provide Star with a list of organisations and individuals that were invited to attend the round table, due to privacy reasons.
He said invitations had been sent out to those who had an interest in Western suburbs roads, public transport and freight, as well as “a number of Western suburbs organisations which made comments during the East-West submissions process.”
Minister for Roads and Ports Tim Pallas, who attended the forum, and Footscray MP Marsha Thomson did not respond to Star’s request for comment by deadline.
