OCTOBER 31, 2018 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
(Damjan Janevski)
Roses aglow for the show Everything’s coming up roses at Werribee Park this spring. The annual State Rose and Garden Show will be held at the Victorian State Rose Garden on November 10 and 11, offering the perfect chance for locals to wander through the garden’s display of more than 5000 roses in every colour imaginable. The free event will include plant care demonstrations and talks by some of Australia’s most respected gardening experts, including rose specialist Kim Syrus from Channel Nine’s In The Garden, horticulturalist Craig Castree, Gardenettes Melissa King and Chloe Thompson and SBS’s Vasili Kanidiadis. There will be plenty of activities to keep the kids entertained, including lawn games, face-painting and gardening workshops. Mr Kanidiadis will be on hand during the weekend to share his extensive knowledge of gardening and to help with any gardening conundrums. He said the secret to growing beautiful roses was prudent pruning. “Prune them and feed them well and keep them on a dry site and they’ll love you forever,” he said. “Not too much water and plenty of feeding.” Visit stateroseandgardenshow.com.au for the full program. VASILI KANIDIADIS
Charlene Macaulay
Station parking promise By Charlene Macaulay Election promises continue to come thick and fast one month out from the polls, with the Labor Party pledging more carparking spaces at three Wyndham train stations and a community hospital at Point Cook. The Labor Party promised it would build up to 1600 new and upgraded carparking spaces at Tarneit, Werribee, Wyndham Vale and Watergardens train stations – if Labor is re-elected next month and also wins the next federal election. A total 500 spaces will be built at Tarneit, and 500 at Watergardens.
The projects will also include new lighting and CCTV to make the stations safer. As reported by Star Weekly Weekly, Tarneit train station is the second busiest V/Line station behind Southern Cross, with its 1000-space carpark full by 7.30am each weekday. To add to the pain, buses run only every 40 minutes and their schedule is not synced
with the train timetable. As a result, many commuters park illegally so that they can catch their train. A total 2921 commuters were fined for parking along the Leakes Road entry to Tarneit station between July 1, 2015, and the end of April, 2018. Lalor MP Joanne Ryan said it was likely the new carparking spaces at Tarneit and Werribee train stations would be multi-storey. “In an area with so many families, and young families, commuter carparking is critical,” she said. “This is about making our lives less stressful.” No timelines for the new carparking spaces have been given.
Meanwhile, state Labor has also announced plans for a new “community hospital” in Point Cook that is expected to include primary healthcare and specialist services, a day procedure centre and mental health services. Other services – which could include paediatric care, dialysis, palliative care, chemotherapy and rehabilitation services, public dental and pharmacy – will be determined after consultation with local doctors, health services and the community. A site for the hospital has yet to be determined, and design work is expected to begin at the start of the new government term, should Labor be re-elected.