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labor

For the 3 years that Labor have been in government we have been fighting to save the land in Riley Street. What are our Labor representatives doing to save this land for our community? Read about their policies, promises and actions.

Hong Lim - Member for Clayton
Anne Barker - Member for Oakleigh
John Lenders - State Minister for Finance and Industrial Relations & candidate for the Upper House in the coming state election

On Wednesday November 19th the Federation Park Committee sent a letter to each of the Labor candidates in the coming state election. In this letter we asked the candidates the questions shown at right. We will post any answers we receive in this section.

As you are .... a candidate in the coming state election, on behalf of the local community we would like to ask you the following questions:

What is your current position with regard to this issue?
If elected what action will you take to assist us in securing this land as public parkland?

Hong Lim
Member for Clayton in the Victorian Parliament

1st Floor, 270 Clayton Road
Clayton 3168

hong.lim@parliament.vic.gov.au

Who is Hong Lim?
Hong Lim is a Labor politician and current Member for Clayton in the Victorian State Government. The land we want to save is located in Hong Lim's electorate.

Hong Lim has been in state parliament for 6 years - three years in opposition and three years as a backbencher in the Bracks Labor Government.

He lives in the Clayton electorate and claims, as a local resident, to want the land saved for public use.

We consider our open space a “vital public asset”. Yet despite our pleas the Labor government continues to threaten to sell it off for residential development.

Election promises
In one of his election pamphlets from the previous state election Hong Lim pointed out that under the Kennett Liberal Government “More than $33 billion of Victoria's public assets have been sold to private, often overseas-controlled, companies.” He promised that “Labor will stop the sell off of vital public assets.”

On a current 2002 election brochure which has been dropped in local letterboxes Hong Lim does not mention the Federation Park issue or even the issue of public space in general. Does he really actively support our efforts to save the land from development??

Hong Lim has not yet replied to our November letter. see above

It is now 2002. Has Hong Lim continued to “..bring the seriousness of this matter to the attention of the house and the government..”?

What has he done?
In December 1999 Hong Lim tabled a petition in Parliament on our behalf. This petition contained close to 900 signatures. In his speech he argued that “ ...before and during the state election campaign, the residents regarded the struggle to keep this piece of land as a fight against the Kennett government's slash-and-burn policy of selling state property....The community is expecting a more positive and visionary response from the Bracks Labor government .... I would be negligent in my duty if I failed to bring the seriousness of this matter to the attention of the house and the government..”

Hong Lim attended and spoke at the public rally we held in June 2002 and at our public meeting in October 2002. At the October meeting he reported that he had had a meeting with a representative of Simon Crean (local Federal MP) and the City of Monash but did not provide any details of the discussion or outcome.

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Ann Barker
Member for Oakleigh in the Victorian Parliament

19 Station Street
Oakleigh 3166

www.annbarker.net

The Federation Park committee will attempt to find out what position Ms Barker holds on this issue and whether she has done anything to support our campaign since the last election.

We assume Ms Barker will be standing for re-election in the upcoming state election. She has not yet replied to our November letter. see above

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Mr John Lenders
Current Minister for Finance and Industrial Relations in the Victorian Labor Government

16 Birch Avenue
Dandenong North 3175

John_Lenders@parliament.vic.gov.au

Who is John Lenders?
John Lenders is currently a minister in the Labor government lower house. However he is planning to stand for election to the Upper House Waverley Province in the coming state election. This is the electoral area in which the land under threat is located.

In the state election he will be standing against Liberal candidate Denise McGill, Greens candidate Heather Welsh and Democrats candidate Polly Morgan.

We would point out that Mr Lenders and his Labor colleagues have had three years to “find a solution”.

Saying that he will continue to work with the Minister for Education if elected is just not good enough.

We need a “cast iron guarantee” that this land will be retained as open space for the community.

What has he done?
The Federation Park committee will attempt to find out what position Mr Lender currently holds on this issue and what action he has taken any action to support us during his time as Minister.

Many of our supporters have written to Mr Lender about the issue. In at least one reply dated Nov 4th 2002 he stated “I have discussed the issue with local councillors from the City of Monash and if elected will continue to work with the Minister for Education and the local council to find a solution that takes into account these community concerns”.

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