Pakenham business owners say they are facing an uphill battle against bureaucracy, just weeks away from the promised reopening of Bald Hill Road.
A petition launched on 23 January calling for financial relief for businesses affected by months of roadworks quickly gained over 1,000 signatures but authorities rejected it for not meeting formal requirements.
The Bald Hill Road Financial Relief Team and key political stakeholders met with local business owners yesterday to explain that the petition would not be accepted in its current form.
The new petition must be rewritten using Labor Party-approved formats and also submitted to the state government’s official website.
Combined, this requires 14,000 signatures before the issue can even be considered in Parliament.
James Heenan, who attended the meeting, says the lack of government compensation and ongoing bureaucratic delays has hit his businesses hard.
“I have martial art clubs in Pakenham, Inverloch, and Wonthaggi,” he said.
“If I lose my Pakenham headquarters, the rest fall over—my contracts with Bass Coast Specialist School, local schools, homeschool programs, and my private classes for special needs students.
“Right now I’m mowing lawns and garden clean up in Inverloch just to make some money to cover my bills. I should be at the Pakenham site handling administrative work, but I simply can’t afford to be there.”
Heenan says initial guidance from local MPs was vague.
“They said, ‘do a petition,’ but they didn’t explain the approved format required for parliamentary consideration,” he explained.
“The whole idea was to get support from our own network, from real people in the local area who have experience.
“We started our petition on change.org because we didn’t want to be aligned with any party. Now our petition is blocked, momentum is lost, and businesses continue to suffer.”
Local business owners warn that delays in both construction and government processes are threatening livelihoods and the community’s economic backbone.
Without urgent financial relief or clearer pathways to action, many fear they may not survive until traffic resumes. Businesses also remain concerned that weather, union work schedules, and other site restrictions could cause further delays.
Meanwhile, Big Build Roads spokesperson told the Gazette that the Pakenham Roads Upgrade will be complete in mid-2026, with the intersection at Bald Hill Road and Racecourse Road opening to traffic in late February.
