Parliament of Victoria | Legislative Council | Adjournment
28 August 2026
David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan Region):
My question is to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety and is in relation to the critical need for road infrastructure in the west. The action I specifically seek is that the government declare Taylors Road to be a major arterial road and for it to be duplicated.
But firstly, I want to take a moment to give a shout-out to the Leakes Needs Lights campaign, because it is always heartening to see a community campaign finally achieving its goals. The Leakes Needs Lights campaign was brought to our notice by the wonderful Donna Southern. Donna, a Rockbank resident, approached our office about 18 months ago seeking support for a campaign to install lights at this incredibly dangerous intersection on Leakes Road.
Donna, along with fellow resident Robyn Kennedy, worked tirelessly on this campaign, organising a public protest, rallying community members to meet with and write to ministers and capturing the attention of the local media.
Recently Donna rang to thank me and my team for our support and to pass on the welcome news that the Leakes Road intersection is finally getting the much-needed lights installed. They are technically temporary traffic lights but will be integrated with the network and will also have cameras monitoring the traffic flow.
There are some outstanding questions around the timing of the installation, which I will take up directly with the minister, but this is a great example of what can be achieved through community-led action. Congratulations to all the residents who worked so hard on this campaign.
A major community priority now is to fix Taylors Road, with residents working together to highlight a dangerous stretch of road and calling for government action. Initially designed to carry around 700 vehicles per hour during peak times, Taylors Road is currently carrying up to 2000 vehicles, causing congestion, long delays, rat-running through local streets and more and more accidents. The 1.4-kilometre stretch between Kings Road and Gilson College has a particularly high rate of accidents.
There is a high level of both community and commuter outrage, supported by vocal advocacy from the City of Brimbank, at the state of this road.
The action I seek is for the minister to declare Taylors Road a major arterial road and to commit to its duplication. This would significantly ease these issues, reducing travel times and resulting in a 70 per cent reduction in accidents.
[Awaiting response]
