Brimbank Council has welcomed the announcement of an agreement between the Federal and State governments and Australia Pacific Airports, with a Memorandum of Understanding signed today.
This long-awaited agreement, jointly announced by the State and Federal Governments, marks ‘moving forward’ with the Melbourne Airport Railway project.
Brimbank Mayor, Cr Thuy Dang said today’s agreement between the Albanese Government, Allan Government and Australia Pacific Airports (Melbourne) Pty Ltd is a milestone that marks a significant step forward to delivering better transports options, creating jobs and boosting economic growth for our region.”
Council has long advocated for the delivery of Melbourne Airport Rail and the development of the Sunshine Precinct as the lack of infrastructure in the west has been a major hurdle holding the community back. It sees this agreement as an important step towards achieving these critical projects.
Council’s recently launched the ‘Rail before Runway’ movement, calls on the Federal and State Governments to urgently deliver this urgent infrastructure, before Melbourne’s third runway is built.
“We’re hopeful this long-awaited agreement is the key to fast tracking Melbourne Airport Rail before the third runway opens in 2031, Cr Dang said.
To make Brimbank the thriving city Victoria needs it to be, the Melbourne Airport Rail and the Sunshine Precinct need to be progressed now, to be up and running, servicing the millions of visitors coming into Melbourne with the opening to the third runway.
The Sunshine Precinct will be critically important in supporting Greater Melbourne to provide for the 83 million visitors travelling into our cities, while Melbourne Airport Rail will provide a viable transport option for travellers, along with the thousands of employees who travel to work at Melbourne Airport.
Our major roads, like the Calder, the Tullamarine Freeway and the M80 cannot handle this traffic, and our community urgently need better transport to thrive.
With the recently secured Federal Government funding of $2b, Council is focused on working closely with all levels of government to secure appropriate timelines for the delivery of both projects in entirety.
Ensuring the delivery of the full Sunshine Precinct including the Sunshine Station Masterplan and Melbourne Airport Rail before the third runway opens remains an urgent priority for Council.
“We’re continuing to urge our community to make their voices heard by visiting railbeforerunway.com.au where they can write to our political leaders in just four clicks, to make this change happen.
“Together, I believe we can turn our long-awaited vision of the Melbourne Airport Rail into a reality,” Cr Dang said.
