This was published 3 years ago
Stopping all marginal seats: A Melbourne guide to the car parks controversy
By Shane Wright and Katina Curtis
The Auditor-General has lashed the federal government’s $660 million commuter car parks scheme and found funding was targeted at marginal seats rather than those in need. A former judge described the fund as “corruption”.
So where are these projects around Melbourne, how much has the government promised and are they built?
Below is a list of every site promised for the Victorian capital and a description of the issues as they stand today.
Camberwell | Within walking distance of the office of Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who proposed an upgrade to the station’s car parking as one of four projects in his electorate, there are more than 1000 free car park spaces in the area. Ahead of the 2019 election, the government feared the safe Liberal seat could be threatened by independents such as Oliver Yates. The Auditor-General’s report found it was one of two approved for funding where eligibility for funding under federal government law had not been addressed when it was formally proposed. The government first planned to put $20 million into the project for about 500 new spaces.
Canterbury | The government promised $15 million to add 500 spaces to the small station’s existing 130 spaces. The Auditor-General found that a site identified for another car park will not be attached directly to the station, but about 130 metres away. Planning is under way to make the proposed car park as accessible as possible to the station.
Surrey Hills | This car park was already in the sights of the Victorian government as part of its level crossing removal program. The state plans to merge the Surrey Hills and Mont Albert stations, which sit just 600 metres apart, into a new “premium” station with its own car park. That car park will have the same number of spaces as already available but with new lighting and CCTV and direct access to the new station. The heavily built surrounds, including suburban homes, means a multi-storey car park cannot be built at the existing site.
Glenferrie | Estimated to cost $15 million, this project was slated for a station around which there are already more than 500 free car park spaces. The Auditor-General’s report found it was one of two approved for funding that eligibility under federal government law had not been addressed when it was formally proposed for funding.
Berwick | The government originally promised $15 million for 50 extra parking spaces that then infrastructure minister Alan Tudge said would “take more than 25,000 cars off the road”. The project, one of five promised for La Trobe, has run into major troubles with the government contribution soaring to $49.2 million. A proposal to fold the project into a state government plan to remove the nearby railway level crossing was dumped as the federal government took too long to confirm it would fund the car park.
Beaconsfield | One of only two car parks to be completed since the program was announced. It was incorporated into an existing state government station upgrade. The $15 million project added 150 car park spaces as well as extra lighting, CCTV and hoops for cyclists. It opened in December.
Narre Warren | The promised $15 million was for an unspecified number of extra car spaces. There are already more than 600 free car park spaces at the station. There was a near 5 per cent swing to Jason Wood in the Narre Warren booths at the 2019 poll. He won the seat with a margin of 4.5 per cent. The Narre Warren station sits on the border of the Labor-held seat of Bruce and the Liberal-held seat of La Trobe. It is officially defined as a project for both electorates.
Officer | The federal government only formally approved $5 million for the project in April. It is in the middle of one of Melbourne’s fastest growing suburban areas springing up along the Pakenham rail line. It is a 51-kilometre trip to Southern Cross station from Officer.
Pakenham | The government committed $15 million towards an undetermined number of new car spaces. The Victorian government had planned to upgrade this major station before the federal government’s surprise announcement. Planning has now started with the project likely to include more CCTV, lighting and bicycle parking areas.
Doncaster | Unlike any other project announced as part of the Commuter Car Park fund, the $6 million promised for Doncaster was for a park and ride car park adjacent to the Eastern Freeway. The project caused legal problems for the department because of the way it was tied into the pre-existing $1.8 billion North East Link Project with the Auditor-General noting the car park needed to be approved in its own right.
Eltham | The Victorian government was already planning an upgrade to the railway station car park which has 220 spaces. The Auditor-General’s report notes the Victorian transport department said Eltham was one of a number of projects where there was “no engagement” by the federal government before its election promise. There is doubt whether the upgrade will include additional car spaces.
Boronia | Boronia station is six stops from the end of the Belgrave line, just over 33 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. It’s in then-urban infrastructure minister Alan Tudge’s electorate of Aston where two car park projects were approved. Tudge won a further 2.7-point swing towards him at the 2019 election. There is already a state government-owned multi-storey car park next to the station with 180 spots plus several shopping centre car parks within a few minutes’ walk.
Ferntree Gully | Five stops from the end of the Belgrave line, about 36 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD the station already features two existing state government-owned car parks at the station with a combined 499 spots.
Heatherdale | One of five station projects on the Belgrave/Lilydale lines. Four of them are being built by the Moroondah City Council. Heatherdale is about 26 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. There are a couple of existing nearby car parks with a combined capacity of 515 spaces. The council is yet to choose a site for the new car park. Michael Sukkar held his seat by a 6.1-point margin after he suffered a small swing against him at the 2019 election.
Heathmont | Heathmont is about 28 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. There are two small existing car parks nearby with a combined capacity of 135 spaces. The council has bought the land for the new car park, formerly a commercial site for a swimming pool retailer.
Croydon | Construction has begun at Croydon on a multi-storey car park expect to provide 400 spots. The station is about 31 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. There are two existing state-government owned car parks nearby with a combined capacity of 205 spaces. Another existing car park, owned by the council, offers 185 spots.
Ringwood | A bottleshop occupies the site chosen for the new car park which has provoked a local stoush with the National Trust due to the historic nature of the site. Sukkar told Parliament in 2019 the plan was to build an extra 482 spaces. Ringwood is almost 26 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. There is one existing state government-owned car park at the station with capacity of 158 spaces.
Mitcham | A state government-owned car park exists at the station with 503 spaces. Sukkar told Parliament in 2019 the plan would provide nearly 500 extra spaces but the project was cancelled in April.
Frankston | Frankston station is an end of the line station, nearly 44 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. It’s one of three commuter car park projects promised in the seat of Dunkley, which Liberal MP Chris Crewther was fighting to hold onto after a redistribution made it notionally Labor. Labor’s Peta Murphy won the seat with a 2.7-point margin. The Frankston project is the only one of the three going ahead, with the other two already cancelled. An existing state government-owned car park at the station has 444 spaces. The state government is yet to identify a site for the new car park or how many more spaces will be provided. It told the Auditor-General it was already planning a car park project at Frankston before the federal government made its announcement without consultation.
Seaford | Seaford station is on the Frankston line, located two blocks from the beach and 39 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The government cancelled the project on April 15, 2021. The Victorian government told the Auditor-General it was already planning a car park project at Seaford before the federal government made its announcement without consultation. There are two existing state government-owned car parks at the station with a combined capacity of 471 spaces.
Kananook | Kananook station is on the Frankston line, about 41 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. An existing car park at the station has capacity for about 130 vehicles. The government cancelled the project in April.
North Brighton | This station is on the Sandringham line, about 13 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The existing car park at the station has about 25 spots in it. The project was one of six announced for Liberal MP Tim Wilson’s seat of Goldstein, the most in any electorate. The Labor candidate launched his campaign for the seat saying it had been a safe Liberal electorate and thus missed out on its fair share of government cash over the years. Labor shaved 4.9 points off Wilson’s double-digit margin but he retained the seat with 57.8 per cent of the vote.
Brighton Beach | This station is on the Sandringham line, about 16 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. An existing state government-owned car park at the station can accommodate 187 vehicles. The Brighton Beach project was cancelled in March after the infrastructure department advised it faced significant constraints and the state government would not be the delivery partner.
Sandringham | This end-of-the-line station is about 19 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD and its existing car park at the station has 107 spaces. The project is listed as being in planning.
Bentleigh | The Bentleigh station is on the Frankston line, located 16.5 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. An existing car park next to the station has about 200 spaces in it, and there are three more Glen Eira Council-owned car parks at shops within a few minutes’ walk. The local council is yet to decide whether to start a feasibility study for the project.
Hampton | This station is the second last on the Sandringham line, almost 18 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. Its existing state government-owned car park has 78 spots and there is a shopping centre across the road with more spaces. The project is listed as being in planning.
Elsternwick | This station is on the Sandringham line, about 11 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. An existing multi-storey car park next to the station, owned by the state government, has 148 spaces and another 75 spaces are available on council land at a nearby shopping centre. The local council is yet to decide whether to start a feasibility study for the project.
Craigieburn | The end of the Craigieburn line, this station is more than 26 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The planned car park is jointly funded with the Victorian government – which had planned the project before the federal government announcement – and will add 745 new spaces to the area. Construction has begun. An existing state-government owned car park at the station has 338 spots in it. Craigieburn is in the area that Infrastructure Australia predicts will have the most congested roads in greater Melbourne by 2031. The margin in the safe Labor seat barely budged at the 2019 election.
Balaclava | Located in the old seat of Melbourne Ports, a redistribution and the retirement of a long-standing Labor MP meant this electorate was in play at the 2019 election. It was one of two seats in the country where the endorsed Liberal candidate was asked for proposals under the fund. That led to a promise by the federal government to spend $15 million. But the local council had a year earlier announced a plan to build social housing on the proposed car park site. Labor’s Josh Burns won the seat with a swing of 5 per cent. Along with three other stations, the government has spent almost $2 million on planning for car park projects that were ultimately abandoned.
Hurstbridge | The end of the Hurstbridge line that is 28 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The existing car park handles about 100 vehicles with the Victorian government already planning to upgrade the car park before the federal announcement. The Coalition held the seat until 2010 but has struggled as more of the seat has urbanised. Construction started on the project with land readily available adjacent to the station for a new car park. There was a 5.9 per cent swing to Labor at the Hurstbridge polling booth at the 2019 election.
South Morang | Already surrounded by hundreds of car park spaces, the upgrade was promised as part of a $70 million package that would also go towards Craigieburn and Hurstbridge stations. By early 2021 the federal government abandoned the South Morang project citing “significant constraints” around the area. The Victorian government noted the project could have gone ahead through an upgrade of an informal gravel car park.
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