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Russell Broadbent urges infrastructure upgrades in Gippsland to support rapid growth in Warragul and Drouin

Russell Broadbent, your Member for Monash, highlights Gippsland's growth, urging infrastructure improvements to meet demands from rising population and booming construction, especially in Warragul and Drouin, the nation's fastest-growing areas.

By news@gippsland - 24th July 2024 - Back to News

Russell Broadbent here, your Member for Monash - bringing trust, reason, and common sense. It's no secret that more people have been moving to regional areas in recent years. Who wouldn't want to live in a region like Gippsland? It's the perfect place to raise a family and the daily commute to the city is quite manageable - if you get a good run!

Russell Broadbent notes Gippsland's growth, especially in Warragul and Drouin, where increased population and construction are driving demand and traffic congestion

Traffic increases rapidly

My office is based in Warragul, and one thing I've noticed over the past few years is the increasing number of cars on the road - getting a park in town is nearly impossible! So I wasn't surprised to read that Warragul and Drouin are the fastest growing areas in the nation - surpassing big cities like Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.

In fact, this area has grown by a whopping 41 percent in the past 10 years - that's over 13,000 people! It certainly explains the change in traffic conditions. Warragul and Drouin have been labelled 'Tradie Towns' - with tradie numbers 22 percent above the national average. We're a prime location for construction workers - not too far from the city, and there's heaps of work here and in the city.

Demanding better infrastructure

And it makes sense - more people, more houses, more construction and more demand. But what doesn't make sense is why our infrastructure is so lacking. If we fail to keep up with this rapid growth, we risk a dire lack of services for our residents. So maybe we should rethink a few things:

• Maybe we should exempt tradies from ridiculous emissions taxes especially when they're the ones with the shovel working to fix the housing crisis!
• Maybe we should invest in energy infrastructure that we can access now to power our homes - not so called 'green' infrastructure that is decades away from heating our homes
• Maybe we should invest in good quality infrastructure for growing regions - whether that's public transport, hospitals, schools. The list goes on

We need to be thinking ahead - what will the next decade of growth look like? More people demand more infrastructure. It's hardly rocket science. That's justice as I see it.

Pictures from Russell Broadbent MP website.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com