The Hollowmen hit North Melbourne
Categories: Eddington, Greens, Media, Transport
Above: coloured cardboard and butchers paper aplenty at Bronwyn Pike’s electorate office, 27/8/08.
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What you didn’t know about the State Government’s Victorian Transport Plan:
- ‘Public’ consultation has already closed!
- $10bn East-West Road Tunnel to be automatically adopted by the plan.
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Melburnians woke yesterday morning to a curious piece in The Age, 
Tunnel critics shunned by Pike transport forum, by Clay Lucas.
CRITICS of a $9 billion road tunnel plan have been barred from a Government forum this afternoon to discuss transport plans for Melbourne …
Opponents of the proposed 18-kilometre tollway, which would run from Footscray to Clifton Hill, have been told they cannot attend today’s forum, being staged by the Education Minister and MP for Melbourne, Bronwyn Pike.
That the government might be fed up with anti-tunnel protests is not surprising. What was surprising was that a transport forum for the state seat of Melbourne was being held at all: transport experts and activists alike knew nothing of the meeting until Residents’ Groups received their invitations a week earlier.
What was even more surprising was the forum itself. A mere 20 people gathered at the invitation-only event, and quickly discovered that they were taking part in what would be the first and only consultation session for the whole of the Melbourne electorate for the development of the state government’s Victorian Transport Plan.
The two farcical hours that ensued could have been lifted straight from a script of The Hollowmen.
Click ‘read more’ for an insight into the meeting from one of the attendees, and discover why the $10bn East-West Road Tunnel will be automatically adopted by the Victorian Transport Plan, as well as the unique definition of ‘community consultation’, according to the State Government…