CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mr TEHAN (Wannon) (10:30): I rise today to support Leanne Ryan, who works in the local Beaufort newsagency, who has put together a petition. The petition calls on the honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives and members of the House of Representatives to call on the Victorian state government to urgently upgrade the Beaufort railway station to ensure it meets the needs of local commuters.

The station requires a fit-for-purpose waiting room, a passenger information display, accessible bathroom facilities and CCTV for safety. This is the only station between Ararat and Melbourne with no CCTV. Hundreds of residents rely on this service daily for work and recreation, and it is essential that the station's amenities are up to standard.

Thank you, Leanne, for what you've done and thank you for getting 422 signatures on this petition. I call on the Victorian state government to make sure that they act on this petition, because Beaufort deserves exactly the same railway station facilities that every other station has on the Ararat line. The question is: why are you failing the residents of Beaufort in this way?

They deserve to have a railway station which has disability services access that is up to standard. They deserve to have CCTV lights so that they can come and go from the station safely. And there are other issues as well.

People want to be able to access myki services. They want to make sure there's proper lighting there. They also want to make sure, because it is an important school bus drop zone, that the school students are safe.

There is no reason why the lighting shouldn't be upgraded, why CCTV shouldn't be upgraded, why the whole facility shouldn't be upgraded, especially as people are commuting a lot more from Beaufort to Melbourne and from Beaufort to Ballarat. Leanne, you are on the money. You're listening to the local community and you're acting on behalf of the local community.

It is an absolute honour to support you in seeking to table this petition today, because we have to use every means possible to ensure that the Victorian state Labor government are doing their job, particularly when it comes to supporting people outside Melbourne. I seek leave to table this petition from Leanne Ryan. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Sharkie ): Member for Wannon, has the petition been approved by the Petitions Committee?

Mr TEHAN: No, but I'm still seeking leave to table it. Leave not granted. Mr TEHAN: Leave's not granted?

What has Labor got against people in regional and rural Victoria? Why won't you let me table this? You won't even let me table the document!