Dianne Dejanovic (front holding photo) and Federal Labor MP for Maribyrnong Bill Shorten (front centre) with members of the local community at the train level crossing on Main Road in St Albans, Melbourne where Dianne's son Christian was struck and killed by a train. Picture: Hamish Blair Source: Herald Sun
BILL Shorten says the Victorian Government has refused $90 million from the Commonwealth to fix a deadly railway level-crossing in St Albans because it is in "the wrong part of town".
Mr Shorten, the federal Workplace Relations Minister, said the Main Rd crossing in his safe Labor electorate of Maribyrnong had claimed 16 lives in the past 10 years with countless near misses.
"The politics of the residents shouldn't dictate funding decisions by the Napthine Government," Mr Shorten said.
"What should matter is we have a killer crossing that will kill again. If you know bad things are going to happen in the future, you have an obligation to prevent them."
But the state Minister for Public Transport, Terry Mulder, said the offer from Canberra was not real money but "unrealised savings" from other projects, which might as well be Monopoly money.
Mr Shorten said it was real money and he had lobbied Transport Minister Anthony Albanese to make a special one-off grant of $90 million to fund half the cost of upgrading the dangerous crossing.
"St Albans is being punished because the Liberals think it is the wrong part of town," Mr Shorten said. "I am stunned the Napthine Government has rejected our offer."
Mr Shorten said he feared it was only a matter of time before another fatality.
He said he would write to 17,000 households in the area urging residents to contact the State Government to demand they stop neglecting the western suburbs.
Mr Mulder said the Federal Government gave South Australia money to remove four level-crossings and it was Labor taking the people of St Albans for granted.
"The Victorian Government did not reject federal funding, we simply asked the Federal Government to make sure the offer was real money, not 'unrealised savings' which may not eventuate," he said.
"Unrealised savings is a fingers-crossed approach to hoping other projects come in under budget, and if they do, using those savings. With Labor's track record, the reality is that none of the savings may eventuate, so they may as well be offering Monopoly money."
Dianne Dejanovic, whose 31-year-old son Christian was killed at the level-crossing 15 months ago, said she could not understand why the State Government would not accept the money.
"For us it's too late," Ms Dejanovic said. "But they can do something to prevent the victims of the future."
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