Moonee Valley Council issues ultimatum to Premier Daniel Andrews over Buckley St crossing

MOONEE VALLEY Council has issued a stern ultimatum to the State Government over the divisive Buckley St level crossing removal project, giving Premier Daniel Andrews 10 business days to answer a request for documents before considering legal action.

An artist’s impression of how the Buckley St level crossing removal project would look with road going under the rail line.

MOONEE VALLEY Council has issued a stern ultimatum to the State Government over the divisive Buckley St level crossing removal project, giving Premier Daniel Andrews 10 business days to answer a request for documents before considering legal action.

The council claims the State Government capitalised on the quiet Christmas period to implement the Major Transport Projects Facilitation Act (MTPFA), designed to streamline assessments, approvals and works on major transport projects.

Moonee Valley Mayor John Sipek said the State Government had shut the community out of the process by implementing the Act.

Mr Andrews declared on December 7, 2017 in the Victoria Government Gazette the Act would apply to the Essendon crossing.

The council was not notified of the declaration, but received a letter on January 18 — regarding a Buckley St appointment made by Minister for Transport Jacinta Allan on December 28 in which she referred to the MTPFA — more than a month after the decision was published in the Victoria Government Gazette.

“Not even Australia Post is that slow,” Cr Sipek said.

An artist’s impression of the Buckley St level crossing removal project, from Rose St.

The council wrote to Mr Andrews on January 22, requesting documents and an explanation of the project’s assessment under the Act.

“If the State Government is unable to meet this request we will be forced to consider legal action,” Cr Sipek said.

Save Buckley St president Angelo Baronessa, from Essendon, said residents were disappointed in the State Government’s conduct, saying the declaration showed “a lack of integrity”.

“They’re quite angry about the way it’s come about, how swift it’s been,” Mr Baronessa said. “We are still united in our cause. This isn’t the end of what we’ve been pushing for over the past 14 months.”

Level Crossing Removal Authority (LXRA) project director Michael Caink said the authority had consulted with the community, transport operators, and the council on the project.

“While the Act allows us to streamline this major project, we remain accountable at every stage of delivery,” Mr Caink said.

According to the LXRA, it is standard process to declare major infrastructure projects under parts of the Act. Projects already declared include level crossing works between Caulfield and Dandenong, and on the Hurstbridge and Frankston lines.

In Essendon the council wants to lower the rail line below the road, while the State Government favours road under rail.

Essendon state Labor MP Danny Pearson said the Buckley St project was “now at an exciting milestone”.

■ The version of this story in this week’s Moonee Valley Leader contains an error, saying “In Essendon the council wants the train line to run over Buckley St”. The mistake was made during the editing stage. This is wrong and has been corrected in this story.