Zoe Moffatt
A Hume councillor has criticised correspondence from the previous Minister for Public Transport, offering to get him a road map, amid ongoing pushes for an airport bus route to Sunbury and Diggers Rest.
At a meeting on October 23, Cr Jack Medcraft spoke passionately about the correspondence, questioning whether those who penned the letters went to the ‘B.S school’ in Melbourne.
“I find it very invigorating as to how public servants can write letters,” he said.
“They must go to the B.S school in Melbourne to learn how to put a letter together to totally confuse the issue [and] paint the picture that it’s fantastic.”
Then Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll sent a letter to Hume council on September 5, saying there were improvements to bus services on the way, including a new bus route linking Diggers Rest to Sunbury.
Cr Medcraft questioned why a new bus route would be needed linking the two towns.
“You can get the train to Diggers Rest to get to Sunbury, you don’t need a bus,” he said.
“I’ve been asking for how many years for a bus from Melbourne Airport to get to Sunbury and Diggers Rest, and back.
“Somehow he must have got his map wrong, so I’ll have to let him know there is a station at Diggers Rest and you can catch a train and it does stop at Sunbury.
“Mr Carroll, we’ll make sure you get that road map.”
Sunbury resident Matthew McKay, who launched a petition on August 28 for an improved bus service, said he was disappointed in the correspondence and lack of advocacy from Sunbury MP Josh Bull.
“I was disappointed [in Mr Carroll’s response], I think it did not respond to the request of council and instead deflected the attention onto other things that were irrelevant,” he said.
“I feel unseen and unheard, we elect our elected officials in all levels of government to represent us and I understand things can’t change in the blink of an eye.
“It’s the advocacy that I expect from those I elect that has gone missing, particularly in Josh Bull.
“I voted for him [and] I understand it’s not his role to fix it but I expect more advocacy. He’s not interested in making noise for the sake of his colleagues.”
Mr Bull said the government has invested significantly in the services and infrastructure the community needs.
“As the local member I advocate strongly and work with the entire community whilst priding myself on being accountable, transparent, accessible and available,” he said.
“Our government has begun rolling out electric buses in Sunbury, we are upgrading the Sunbury bus interchange, adding an additional service, as well as constantly working DTP to provide a service that matches community demand.”
Mr Carroll was contacted for comment.
