Michael Sukkar MP

Constituency Statement: Deakin Local Infrastructure Projects Update

At the end of the year I think it’s timely to reflect on some of the local projects that we are undertaking in Deakin. We recently upgraded Canterbury Road in Heathmont, with $1.2 million for safety upgrades that have been completed, and it’s pleasing to see that that has finally been achieved. I spoke earlier in the week about our $8 million upgrade to the Maroondah Highway and Dorset Road intersection. That has progressed to phase 2. That is another effort from this government to improve traffic congestion in the eastern suburbs. A range of other road projects that we’ve undertaken have been finalised, including an upgrade to Oban Road of over $1 million, which residents are very pleased with. Also we are investing significantly into local community and sporting infrastructure.

We’ve got upgrades being undertaken at the moment to Walker Park in Mitcham, a pavilion upgrade of over $3 million. We’ve got an upgrade to Benson Oval in Croydon, which is going to improve facilities for the new women’s football team that will be playing out of Benson Oval. We’ve also got an upgrade to the Heathmont Football Club and Heathmont Cricket Club pavilion, complementing work that’s already being undertaken at HE Parker Reserve with our new $17 million netball stadium, which will finally mean that instead of predominantly girls playing netball in the rain they’ll be playing in a brand-new stadium come next year.