Media Release

TWO YEARS PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST IN DANDENONG

Member for Dandenong, Gabrielle Williams, last week concluded her second parliamentary year as the State Member for Dandenong in the Victorian Parliament.

As the year draws to a close Ms Williams has reflected on what has been achieved in Dandenong since the Andrews Labor Government was sworn into office in December 2014.

During her election campaign Ms Williams said she committed to putting people first in Dandenong with a strong focus on education and transport in the area. After two years representing Dandenong she is pleased to have delivered significant development in both these areas. When asked to nominate the top local achievements from her first two years in office, Ms Williams noted important investments in education, public transport and community safety, including:

  • Over $10 million funding for local schools, including $7m for stage 1 of the redevelopment of Lyndale Secondary and planning money for stage 2, and $3m for
    further works at Dandenong High School.
  • Commencement of works on the removal of the three level crossings in Noble Park at Corrigan Road, Heatherton Road and Chandler Road, along with planning
    and design undertaken for the Abbotts Road level crossing removal.
  • The new 890 bus route along Abbotts Road to connect local workers with previously unserviced areas of the Dandenong South Employment Precinct.
  • The deployment of 20 new custody officers at Dandenong Police Station and the record investment to recruit another 3,135 new frontline and specialist police,
    boosting overall numbers by 20 per cent.
  • Record equity funding for local schools, including more than $1.5 million for Dandenong High School and $500,000 for Doveton College, in additional funding in 2016.
  • $1.5 million funding for the full signalisation of the busy intersection at Robinson Street and Princes Highway, including signalised pedestrian crossings.

Looking forward to next year, Ms Williams noted there was still more to do. The closure of the automotive sector presents some unique challenges for the south east following the Federal Liberal Government’s decision to remove support for the auto manufacturing industry and its workers. Ms Williams believes Dandenong is positioned to deal with these challenges, citing the state’s record employment growth and the Labor governments ground breaking $135.4 million package to help the auto industry transition, with – for the first time – assistance targeted specifically at workers in Melbourne’s south east, including the $10m Local Industry Fund for Transition and $8.4 million for the South East Automotive Transition program. Ms Williams said the Andrews Labor Government had achieved a lot in its first two years but she takes nothing for granted, and is committed to driving more progress for the Dandenong community over the next two years.