Harper Sercombe
The state opposition is calling for the redevelopment of Broadmeadows station.
The upgrade of the station has long been a priority of the community and Hume council.
The redevelopment remains a contentious issue with $18 million allocated to the project by the then Brumby Labor government in 2010. However, that funding was redirected in 2013 following a change of government.
Council has been calling for the money to be reinstated ever since.
Mayor Joseph Haweil has been a strong public advocate for the project.
“A full-scale major redevelopment of the Broadmeadows Railway Station should have occurred years ago,” he said in a statement attributable to him.
“Council continues to urge the Victorian government to provide a realistic roadmap for the redevelopment of this important transport hub of state significance.
“We will continue to advocate for the investment the site so desperately needs.”
In2020, The Northern Councils Alliance, with support from business group North Link, has released its Building Communities, Connecting People : Northern Horizons 2020 report, which outlines the infrastructure needed across the north to keep pace with population growth. The report called for an upgrade to Broadmeadows station by 2024.
The state government has committed to upgrading the station as part of the Suburban Rail Loop. The station is embarked to become a ‘transport superhub’ but not until 2056.
Liberal Northern Metropolitan Region MP Evan Mulholland and opposition public transport spokesperson Richard Riordan said this isn’t good enough.
“This critical upgrade cannot wait any longer. Broadmeadows station needs to be upgraded now, not sometime in the next 30 years,” Mr Mulholland said.
Mr Riordan said “Broadmeadows doesn’t have a government willing to move a cent to invest in it.”
“This government has shown that its promises are nothing more than fairy tales.”
Broadmeadows MP Kathleen Matthews-Ward said the station is the gateway to Melbourne’s north and should be “modern and accessible” but did not elaborate on a timeline for redevelopment.
