Preliminary budget overview

The 2018/19 State Budget contains funds for improvements in the South East Melbourne region, including upgrades to seven roads, additional bus and train services and free TAFE courses for 30,000 students in subject areas with skills shortages.Below are some of the headline announcements. The full 2018/19 Budget is available here.

TRANSPORT

Road:

• Duplicating Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road in Pakenham from two to four lanes between Princes Freeway and Manks Road

• Duplicating Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road in Cranbourne from two to four lanes between Thompsons Road and South Gippsland Highway

• Duplicating Lathams Road in Seaford from two to four lanes between Oliphant Way and Dandenong-Frankston Road, including a new bridge over Peninsula Link

• Widening Pound Road West/Remington Drive in Dandenong South from two to four lanes between Abbotts Road and South Gippsland Highway, with a new bridge over the Cranbourne rail line

• Duplicating Hallam North Road from two to four lanes between Heatherton Road and James Cook Drive

• Intersection and road safety upgrades on Golf Links Road from Peninsula Link to Baxter-Tooradin Road and Grant Road from Baxter-Tooradin Road to Frankston-Flinders Road in Langwarrin South

• Upgrading two intersections with traffic lights on Thompsons Road in Cranbourne

• $700 million will be provided under a separate package to continue widening the Monash Freeway from Chadstone to Pakenham.

• The Government is investing a further $75 million to upgrading the Mordialloc Bypass to a four-lane freeway connection between the Mornington Peninsula Freeway at Springvale Road and the Dingley Bypass, bringing the total investment to $375 million.

SEM has advocated for work to begin on Thompsons Road, Koo Wee Rup Road, Golf Links Road, and Lathams Road.

SEM welcomes this announcement but notes that no commitment has been made towards Westall Road.

SEM will continue to advocate for Westall Road to be extended to Monash Freeway.

Bus, tram and train:

• Planning for a tram line from Caulfield Station to Rowville ($3 million)

• $50 million will fund improved bus services to seven suburbs - Narre Warren in the South East is one.

• Bus Services improvements will also be delivered between Carrum Downs and Cranbourne.

• The Cranbourne and Pakenham lines will see upgrades to signalling, power and infrastructure upgrades. It also includes planning and development activities for a future Cranbourne line duplication and associated works at the Dandenong and Caulfield rail junctions.

• Additional train services will be introduced between Dandenong and the City

• Better station access and experience Business cases will be developed to improve passenger experience - Pakenham and Kananook will see upgrades.

• Frankston Line Stabling – Kananook New train stabling facilities at Kananook will replace existing stabling in Carrum

SEM has advocated for buses for jobs in the south east, and the extension of the Cranbourne and Frankston lines. SEM welcomes the investment on our rail lines and bus network, but we will continue to advocate for our key transport projects in the upcoming state election, including the extension of the Cranbourne and Frankston rail lines and more buses into the key employment precincts areas such as Dandenong, Monash and Carrum Downs.

EDUCATION & SKILLS

• $172 million for free TAFE courses and additional placements in skills shortage areas. 30 'high-priority' TAFE courses will be offered for free.

SEM supports closer links and alignment between education and industry within the region as we are currently experiencing a critical mismatch between industries skills requirements and training facilities in Melbourne's South East. SEM welcomes this announcement.