Bruce Lancashire

The West Party exists to put Melbourne’s west first, not any left-right labels. Our candidates think for themselves and focus on their electorate’s priorities.

The West Party does not support a moratorium on data centres, believing that data centres will play an important role in the future economic development of our economy.

However, we strongly support restoring proper planning controls and preventing data centres from bypassing local planning schemes through Victoria’s Development Facilitation Program. Developments must include public notification, meaningful consultation with councils and communities, and access to VCAT review.

Data centres must be appropriately located, with adequate buffers protecting residential areas and excluded from Green Wedge Corridors.

The government-owned State Electricity Commission (SEC) should take a leading role in coordinating their electricity needs based on new green electricity. We also support investigating local microgrids and incentives for households and businesses to supply electricity to the grid through solar panels and batteries.

Importantly, data centre developers must make substantial contributions to their local communities, either financially or through community infrastructure. For example, waste heat could be used to heat an adjoining public aquatic centre provided by the developer.

• Trial the use of automated electric buses: Undertake a trial of driverless electric buses as a modern, efficient and potentially more economical alternative to conventional bus services.
• Reduce operating costs: Driverless technology could substantially reduce labour costs, while electric propulsion may lower energy and maintenance expenses. These savings would need to be assessed against vehicle, technology and supervision costs.
• Provide more frequent services: Smaller automated buses could operate more frequently, reducing passenger waiting times and providing greater flexibility.
• Improve after-hours services: Lower operating costs could make it financially practical to provide more frequent services during evenings, weekends and other periods of low passenger demand.
• Improve services in growth areas: Smaller automated vehicles could enable new residential communities to receive public transport services earlier in their development.
• Establish demonstration projects: Introduce trial services on selected routes to assess operational performance, passenger demand, safety, reliability, public acceptance and overall costs.
  • Proposed trial route 1 – St Albans: Establish a trial connecting Sunshine Hospital, St Albans Railway Station and Victoria University’s St Albans Campus.
  • Proposed trial route 2 – Sunshine: Establish a trial connecting Sunshine Railway Station and Victoria University’s Sunshine Campus.
  • Evaluate and expand: Undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the trial services to determine whether automated electric buses should be progressively introduced across Melbourne, particularly in areas currently experiencing inadequate public transport services.
  • Local experience: The Australian National Transport Research Organisation has announced that a 15-seat automated electric bus called Rita has arrived and is being tested.
  • International experience: Another automated electric vehicle is the Ohmio Lift, manufactured in New Zealand. It’s a small, fully electric, automated passenger shuttle designed to carry up to 20 passengers. Ohmio vehicles have been used in trials in England, including around Birmingham.

The location of toxic waste incinerators and toxic laden landfill should be prohibited not just in the West of Melbourne but everywhere in Victoria.

The electrification of homes and businesses is supported in the western suburbs and Victoria as a whole. This should progressively allow the shutdown of coal fired power stations. The electrification of our transport industry will also be important to reducing air pollution.

Homelessness is a complex issue requiring a coordinated approach. We support properly funded outreach, mental health, and drug and alcohol services tailored to people’s needs.

State and local governments must work together to ensure services are accessible, effective, and responsive to the needs of communities across Melbourne’s west.

To improve housing affordability, The West Party supports reviewing Melbourne’s urban growth boundary, which restricts residential expansion.

Carefully planned adjustments could release more land for housing while protecting environmentally significant areas and green wedge corridors.

Possible sites include the former ABC transmission tower site, which could be considered for a new suburb. High-voltage electricity easements also offer opportunities for residential development and public parkland, provided existing overhead lines are relocated underground.

These steps could boost supply, create new communities, and help make housing more affordable across Melbourne’s west.

I respect that many people hold deeply personal views on abortion.

Our focus is on the priority’s communities across Melbourne’s west consistently raise: better infrastructure, opportunities for young people, safer neighbourhoods, and reducing crime.

While respecting individual views, The West Party is not campaigning on abortion.

Our priority is practical improvements to daily life in the West.

The Government is proposing to establish a new Police Training Academy in a regional location and add 1,500 extra police, the opposition is proposing to add an additional 3000 police.

The West Party supports this increase in police numbers and considers that the new Police Training Academy should be located in the West of Melbourne to take advantage of the availability of new recruits from this area particularly from the Cultural And Linguistic Diverse Communities (CALD).

However, given high level of criminal activity in Victoria serious concern is raised with the time it will take to establish a new Police Academy and to recruit an additional 3000 police officers.

To provide a quick response to the rising crime rate in Victoria it is proposed that police stations be provided with video links at the front desk and an adjoining interview/safe room with remote locking capabilities. This proposal would ensure that all police stations were available to the public 24/7 and allow the establishment of new police facilities or hubs in other appropriate locations. This proposal would also free up police for other duties.

The provision of multiple video links would assist in reducing queues at stations. The secure interview room would provide a high level of safety until police arrive.

The staffing of this type of facility could be achieved by encouraging the return of hundreds of experienced officers recently retired due to the government bungled Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA). Officers presently on stress or sick leave and others who may not have met previous entrance requirements could also be considered. The ability to work from home or in locationally convenient stations may also make new recruitment easier.

The use of new technologies and artificial intelligence needs to be investigated to assist in improving police services and potential cost savings.

BYD have introduced a system where a drone can be launched from a vehicle. We frequently see in the news media how high-speed police chases often result in accidents and death. The use of a drone in this situation could help in reducing these terrible accidents. The drone would also be capable of following an offender even after they leave their vehicle.

The eye in the sky police helicopter is considered a very valuable tool for the police force in fighting crime. However, it is also very expensive to operate. The use of drones for this type of police work could cover a much wider area and reduce both cost and time taken to interdict criminal activity.

Drone pilots are quicker and easier to train than helicopter pilots. Becoming a police drone pilot may encourage recruits who would not normally consider a police career. Subject to human control a drone could also threaten deployment of a net or other measures in life threatening situations.

Access to public and private camera systems could help locate criminals and missing persons.

Robots have entered the era of mass production. Robots are seen in factories, warehouses, restaurants and even hotel lobbies. They could be introduced into areas such as shopping centres to provide public information and early warning to security guards of dangerous events.