Bringing the railways back to Wonthaggi

The town, Wonthaggi and surrounding towns are all growing. The demographics include diverse age groups, not just the elderly. We have young families and people between ages 21 and 55 living in Wonthaggi who still commute between Wonthaggi and Melbourne.

Currently, there is a bus service to and from Melbourne city, but the bus service is not viable in the long term, due to road congestion, longer travel times due to traffic, and limited bus services. A train will resolve these issues and cut down travel time by at least half hour. This is important as more people are moving to the country for a better life and due to housing price rises.

International leaders are saying we need to reduce emissions, and a train can and will be part of resolving this issue, taking more cars off the road. Many people are now setting up home in Wonthaggi and still have to drive to the city as the buses are not always reliable, nor safe in covid times being buses are confined spaces - trains are not so confined.

It does not make sense that the trains were cut in 1993 by Kennett who had shortsighted ideas. Had the train lines been kept in use, this would have benefitted the economy, bringing in money from everyday use.

Governments peddal the excuse that it is too expensive to return railways to Wonthaggi. This is not true and no one should buy that excuse at all. The government has more than enough money and the railways being in use will pay for itself and keep paying into the economy.

This NEEDS to be done now. We are not going to wait any longer. We would like to see Wonthaggi as a successful burgeoning town just like Traralgon is. For the last decade, locals in Wonthaggi and surrounds including Leongatha have fought and fought for this railway line to be brought back into use and it has been ignored for too long. No more. Just fund it and bring it back!