Gippsland › Latest news › Russel Northe MLA
Minister Fails to Support Latrobe Valley Seniors
Disappointment prevails with seniors access to public transport.
Member for Morwell, Russell Northe has expressed his extreme disappointment at the response received from the Minister for Transport, in relation to Mr Northe’s advocacy for a better deal for Latrobe Valley seniors when they utilise public transport.
Mr Northe recently highlighted in Parliament the financial disadvantage Latrobe Valley seniors face when using public transport, when compared to their counterparts in Melbourne and some other regional areas.
When questioned about the unfairness and inequity confronting Latrobe Valley seniors, the Minister simply responded with information that we already know - and that is that seniors in the Latrobe Valley are forced to pay more to utilise inferior public transport services.
How is it fair and just that a senior in Pakenham can travel to and from Melbourne all weekend free, but a senior in the Latrobe Valley can’t even get from Moe to Traralgon?
How is it fair that Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Warrnambool and Mildura senior commuters can utilise buses in their municipality free of charge on a weekend but those in Latrobe cannot?
During a weekday, how is it fair that a senior commuter in Pakenham can travel approximately 80km on the public transport network at a maximum charge of $4.30, yet Latrobe Valley seniors can only travel about 12km for the same price?
Yet the Minister has ignored these key points, which is incredibly disappointing and indeed insulting for seniors in the Morwell electorate.
I ask the Minister and the Government to take this matter seriously, and do what was requested in the first place, and that is to adopt the policies I have suggested so that Latrobe seniors have fare parity like their counterparts in Melbourne and other major regional centres.
Source: www.gippsland.com
Published by: support@gippsland.com
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