The planned expansion of the Boral landfill site at Ravenhall is a common target for Kororoit candidates in Saturday’s state election.
The seat will be contested by Independent Margaret Giudice, the Greens’ Philip Hill, Liberals’ Goran Kesic, Voice for the West’s Shashi Turner and Labor’s Marlene Kairouz, who has held the seat since a 2008 byelection
“[One of the most important issue is] standing up for the community in opposing the expansion of the Boral tip,” Mr Hill said.
The Greens candidate has also identified public transport, particularly electrification and duplication of the rail line to Melton, and education as main priorities for the west, which, she said, had been “neglected for years by the Labor and Liberal governments”.
Ms Giudice, a former Brimbank mayor, is vehemently opposed to the tip expansion. “Win or lose, I’ll fight with the residents to stop the expansion,” she said.
Like her Greens rival, she says more secondary schools are imperative, while hospitals and health centres need to also keep up with the growth pace. “With the area expanding the way it is, surely there should be provisions set aside,” she said.
Ms Turner is hoping to create a community ‘think-tank’ to devise ways in which the tip could be better used.
She said her “electorate priority” was to eliminate the inconvenience of Caroline Springs families driving further out for schools, and she hoped the suburb could finally get its own train station.
Mr Kesic echoed the voices of the minority candidates and listed “the tip, Caroline Springs railway crossing and improving our health facilities” as the most pressing issues.
“It’s very important to sit down and seriously work on the infrastructure,” Mr Kesic said.
The health cuts by the Coalition government, the lack of schools in the area and the impact the Boral tip expansion will have on the community are Ms Kairouz’s concerns.
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