Mr J. BULL (Sunbury) — The matter I raise tonight is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I seek is for the minister to visit my electorate to see Sunbury Road and discuss its future duplication. Sunbury Road is a major arterial road linking the southern end of my electorate to the communities to the north. The road is critical for commuters, linking to Melbourne Airport as well as connecting to major freeways including the Tullamarine Freeway and the Western Ring Road.

Sunbury Road is not only used by my community but also acts as a major link for the communities along the Lancefield–Romsey corridor. The road is becoming increasingly busy, carrying more than 25 000 vehicles per day, with more expected to use the road due to high local population growth. There are also serious safety concerns due to the road being undivided, with traffic accidents continuing to occur along Sunbury Road in spite of upgrades at Oaklands Road and Melbourne-Lancefield Road. There have been 60 crashes in the last recorded five-year period. Two of these were fatalities and 27 resulted in serious injuries.

I wish to advocate for the full duplication of Sunbury Road. This will make the road more efficient and, more importantly, safer. The additional capacity provided by duplicating Sunbury Road will help better connect Sunbury residents to jobs at Melbourne Airport and within the Hume corridor while easing the growing and increasingly dangerous pressure on Sunbury Road. This project is a priority for the area and for the community and should be funded as soon as possible. I once again ask the minister to come to Sunbury, visit Sunbury Road with me and inspect the area. I look forward to discussing this vital project with the minister.