State, federal budgets

By Melissa Grant
They are preparing to launch a website to keep pressure on both levels of government to fund the long-awaited project, expected to cost about $14 million.
Cardinia Shire councillor Stuart Halligan said signs would be erected around the town directing people to the website.
“It will be mainly to alert the people coming through to the site and tell them about the safety issues we have and direct them to ministers and the premier as well,” he said.
Kooweerup Township Committee chairman Ray Brown said the fight for a bypass was far from over.
“We are by no means going to give up,” he said.
Mr Brown recently attended a post-State Budget briefing. He said he raised the issue with Victorian treasurer John Lenders and was satisfied with his response.
“The thing I was most pleased about was he did know where Kooweerup was and that we needed a bypass,” he said.
There is still another budget before Victoria goes to the polls, but Mr Brown isn’t confident of an announcement regarding bypass funding before then.
“I’m still of the opinion it’s going to be an election issue,” he said.
Cr Halligan said it was still unclear if traffic signals were going to be installed at the notorious Rossiter Road and Station Street intersection. He was hopeful this would eventuate, but said it wouldn’t solve the town’s traffic woes.
“It won’t rectify the problem – there will still be traffic congestion, but it will make it safer for pedestrians,” he said.
Despite government funding yet to be committed for the long-awaited project, VicRoads has been undertaking specialist studies into possible bypass routes, with a preferred route expected to be released in the coming months.