KEYSBOROUGH
Includes Keysborough and parts of Springvale South and Noble Park.
Held by Martin Pakula (ALP) (margin 11.9%)
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Name: Hung Vo
Party: Independent
Age: 42
Suburb: Springvale South
Previous occupations: Monash Health, Restauranteur & Operator @ Goodman Fielder
What’s your electorate’s best asset? Multiculturalism. The diversity of the community has improved the quality of life for everyone living here, with citizens living in harmony and enjoying each other’s cultures, food and traditions.
What’s the most pressing law-and-order issue? Increased gang activity and gang violence.
How do you fix it? Increase police officers in line with population growth and gang activity. Increase penalties and prison terms in accordance with the severity of criminal activity and number of repeat offences.
What’s your ideal number of poker machines in Greater Dandenong?
My ideal number of poker machines is ten per venue. I also support restricting the maximum bet amount per machine to $1.
How has ‘sky rail’ changed Noble Park?
Sky Rail has reduced some road congestion. However, action needs to be taken to divert traffic to other roads in order to reduce chaos during peak hours.
Readers have highlighted the Heatherton Road-Douglas Street-Lightwood Avenue roundabout as a traffic bug-bear. What will you do about it?
We need to commission experts to examine the situation and offer some alternatives to reduce traffic. For instance, diverting traffic at Corrigan Road at certain hours could help take pressure off this roundabout. Another alternative would be to raise Heatherton Road over the roundabout, as happens further down at Princes Highway. However, in order to make an informed decision, an expert analysis of the situation and the options available would be the best place to start.
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Name: Martin Pakula MP
Party: Labor member for Keysborough
Age: 49
Suburb: Black Rock
Previous occupations: Lawyer, State Secretary of the National Union of Workers, former Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Public Transport (2008-2010)
What’s your electorate’s best asset?
The Keysborough electorate’s best asset is its diversity and strong sense of community pride. People from all over the world have chosen to make this area their home. We all benefit from the many different cultures, cuisines and festivals that make the community unique and welcoming.
What’s the most pressing law-and-order issue? How do you fix it?
Family violence is Victoria’s most pressing law and order issue. That’s why the Andrews Labor Government has invested a record $2.6 billion to implement all 227 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence, to support survivors and end family violence for good.
The Andrews Labor Government has also invested a record $2 billion towards community safety, including funding 3,135 new police officers across Victoria. Locally, 96 new police have been allocated to the Dandenong Division. The crime rate is down 9.3% in Greater Dandenong.
We have also strengthened Victoria’s laws in relation to bail, community corrections orders, sentencing, protection of emergency workers, carjacking and home invasion, and counter-terrorism.
What’s your ideal number of poker machines in Greater Dandenong?
In September 2017, we capped the maximum number of gaming machine entitlements in 17 municipal areas at their current level, including in the City of Greater Dandenong. We have also capped the number of gaming machines in the state until 2042.
Victoria has record low density for gaming machines in hotels and clubs, with 5.47 gaming machines per 1,000 adults (down from 7.76 in 1999-2000).
The Government has also banned betting advertising on roads, public transport, and within 150 metres of all Victorian schools.
How has ‘sky rail’ changed Noble Park – visually and functionally?
I’m proud to be part of the Andrews Labor Government that removed three dangerous local level crossings and transformed Noble Park.
Local residents tell me they love the new station’s clean and modern design. The new link road has made shops on both sides of the track more accessible, which is good for local traders. The new community open space underneath is being enjoyed by residents, with new parkland and even our first dog park.
Importantly, it has also made the Corrigan, Heatherton and Chandler Road intersections safer and has improved traffic flows.
Readers have highlighted the Heatherton Road-Douglas Street-Lightwood Avenue roundabout as a traffic bug-bear. What will you do about it?
As the local MP, I was very pleased to be able to deliver $50,000 in the 2018-19 State Budget to investigate traffic signals at the Heatherton/Lightwood Road/Douglas Street roundabout.
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Darrel Taylor (Liberal), Usman Afzal (Transport Matters), Ken McAlpine (Greens) did not respond. Helen Jeges (Animal Justice Party) responded with a generic statement.
