Candidates call to preserve Healesville Freeway Reserve

ALL Forest Hill state election candidates have moved to reassure residents that the Healesville Freeway Reserve will be fully or partially preserved.

Anne Makhijani and David Berry have been involved in fighting to have the Healesville Freeway Reserve preserved as open space for the community

ALL Forest Hill state election candidates have moved to reassure residents that the Healesville Freeway Reserve will be fully or partially preserved.

The 35ha reserve, which runs between Boronia and Springvale roads in Vermont and Vermont South, was intended to be used by VicRoads for the Healesville Freeway, but is no longer needed.

It has been used for a variety of casual recreational activities, by local school groups, for agistment of horses and alpacas, and contains 94 indigenous plant species and 20 native bird species.

Three candidates — Labor’s Pauline Richards, the Animal Justice Party’s Kane Rogers and the Greens’ Brewis Atkinson — said they would preserve 100 per cent of the land if elected.

“I’d love to see people using the land, love to see families and children, people everywhere just enjoying high-quality open space,” Ms Richards said.

“I think it’s so important for people to have these spots to escape and be happy (because) when they’re gone, they’re gone,” Mr Rogers said.

“I think it’s so important for people to have these spots to escape and be happy (because) when they’re gone, they’re gone,” - Animal Justice Party candidate Kane Rogers.

Mr Atkinson encouraged people to vote for the Greens because he thought it unlikely that Labor would end up keeping the entire reserve as open space.

Forest Hill state Liberal MP Neil Angus said while the Napthine Government had announced that more than half of the reserve could be sold off to other government departments or Whitehorse Council, it was still keeping an ample amount for public use.

“I think the important thing to remember there is that there’s just under half of it we’ve already announced is going to be preserved as Crown land and that’s 15.4ha plus the areas that’s taken up by the shared walking and cycling path from Springvale Rd to Boronia Rd, so that’s 3.6km, a fantastic start,” Mr Angus said.

Australian Christians candidate Lynne Maddison said she had a passion for the environment and was unsure whether the current plans for the land were the best option.

She said she would consult with experts on what to do with the land if she was elected.

Other issues Forest Hill candidates said they were concerned about included road congestion, public transport and funding for education, particularly TAFE.

When Leader asked the candidates to name the Victorian treasurer, only Mr Angus and Ms Richards could name Michael O’Brien.

Family First candidate Wendy Ross would not participate in an interview and Australian Country Alliance candidate Melissa Trotter did not list her contact details on the Victorian Electoral Commission website.