I am Rose Iser – Moonee Valley Councillor for this area and proudly a Councillor endorsed by the Greens.

Thank you for the invitation to speak to you today and I acknowledge that we are meeting on the land of the Wurundjeri people and that we pay our respects to their elders past and present.

There have been some recently written chapters in the history of Flemington and Travancore and they tell a story of how we arrived here at a rally on a Sunday in May.

One chapter is called ‘CityLink’...

• It’s about the creation of the aerial slug above us.
• $75M of concrete and road space.
• In this chapter, Transurban cried foul at the state government because the big aerial slug didn’t attract as many patrons as expected, but, as Eddington would do well to know, an inquiry found that Transurban’s original predictions of traffic volume on the Bolte Bridge were wrong – the predictions, quite naturally, overestimated the extent to which motorists, Australian motorists, would pay to get to work more quickly.
• Instead, of course, tolls have moved cars onto Mount Road and local streets, creek life beneath the freeway is deprived of rain and sun, the constant hum of cars and trucks as they emerge from the cone of silence is unbearable and CityLink has of course done nothing to reduce CO2-emitting freight and private travel.

Another chapter is called ‘The Fire’…

• A mystery in which the answers seem to have gone up in smoke in 2004 when Lombards burnt down.
• What sort of development was anticipated when the land was rezoned and a development overlay put in place by Moonee Valley Council?
• How did a fire erupt one balmy November night?
• How did the fire change the storyline?
• Why were residents locked out of planning processes through the Minister’s intervention in 2005?
• And why were residents never invited back in when Stage One of Benson’s development was signed off and Moonee Valley Council was left with half a development, a state government-endorsed overlay and no answers?

And the next chapter is unfondly known as ‘Lombards’

• A chapter dominated by developers and governments who could legally ignore the views of the local community.
• I am still too angry to read this chapter – I would have to read about parkland being sold to facilitate a development, a request to approve the development as Urgent Business a week before Christmas, a seeming unwillingness to make amendments to the design to accommodate the likes of external disabled access, a bike path, connections with open space.
• Apparently the developer is providing a bike for every apartment.  It is a pity there is no bicycle access to the plaza and no bike lane into the site.
• This is a development that is, in my view, inconsistent with Melbourne 2030  as it plonks 17,000sqm of office space and over 350 apartments kilometers away from a Principal Activity Centre without meeting the criteria of 20% public transport travel.
• Stage 2A - now approved – will see 319 cars emerging from one exit.  Stage 2B has 477 car spaces -  the entire development bringing 1000 cars to the site.
• The current plans do not adequately address transport and environmental issues to any degree sufficient for a project of this scale and constraint in this location.
• Stage 2A was approved of course when Moonee Valley Council gave away the right to ask for developers’ contributions to meet the social and recreational and transport needs of a future community encased in concrete.
• Moonee Valley Council has refused the 22 storey tower but awaits the report of a Priority Development Panel that in a ridiculous scenario is only able to talk about one half of the Stage 2A/B development.
• This is a chapter about a community seemingly made impotent by its local Council who couldn’t seem to right the wrongs of the state government in the previous Chapter.
• It’s about policies like Melbourne 2030, sustainable development, greenhouse reduction, valuing open space, neighbourhood character and amenity meaning nothing in the face of development yield.

And the most recent chapter is called ‘Eddington’s tunnel’

• A tunnel based on a report that indicates that 75% of traffic from the Eastern freeway wants to get to the CBD.
• Eddington’s road tunnel does not address peak oil or greenhouse emissions – but promotes personal mobility at the expense of a sustainable future.
• The target of 20% of motorized trips on public transport is being ignored by developers, planning authorities and Eddington.

And as a crowd brimming with passions for our home turf – it is worth asking,

What do we expect in Flemington and Travancore?

• Well, we don’t expect any slithers of our only parkland to be sold by our Council.
• We don’t expect developers to be exempt from making contributions to compensate for the impact of their projects;
• we don’t expect silence, but nor do we expect the constant rumble of trucks hurtling down a roller-coaster above us; and
• we don’t expect a tunnel to run beneath us or spew out traffic at our doorstep.
• What do we expect? 
• We expect the protection and enhancement of our public open space;
• we expect public transport that connects us effectively and efficiently with Carlton, Essendon, Footscray, Fitzroy;
• we expect sustainable development that respects the character of Flemington and Tranvancore;
• we expect to have the right to object to developments;
• we expect our public housing residents not to be strangled by freeways beside them and beneath them;
• and we expect a Council to listen to us.

We haven’t been heard of late, but as children well know, if someone isn’t listening, you just have to talk louder.

I want the next chapter in the story of Flemington/Travancore to be called ‘power to the passionate people’ not ‘Eddington’s Folly’ and not “Car cancer kills Community”.

I want this chapter to tell the story of a community who

• told a man called Rod that he couldn’t keep people in cars and eradicate congestion; and
• that he couldn’t unclog Hoddle St by clogging up Mount Road.
• I want it to tell a story about a community who pointed out to their Council that Flemington/Travancore was not a major activity centre requiring a 21 storey tower,
• but a community of cyclists, walkers, people who play in the park, school children and people who want to hand to our children a clean and green land.

Let’s write to Rod, let’s write to planning authorities and let’s write that chapter.

Photo: Mike Puleston