Alan Tudge (Aston, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

A bit like the carbon tax, as the member for Kooyong pointed out. The East West Link will not solve all of these problems that I have been talking about, but it will make a difference. I believe it would be the single most important road that could be built in order to address congestion in Melbourne and in Victoria. For people in the eastern suburbs, like in my electorate and like the member for Kooyong's electorate, it would give them a pathway across to the west of Melbourne. For those who are from the western side of Melbourne it would make a tremendous difference, because at the moment if they are trying to get across into the city they only have one avenue and that it is through the Westgate Freeway, which we know is clogged almost every single morning and almost every single evening. What this road would do is to provide a further linkage from the west across to the east, and the east across to the west. Instead of having the one pathway from the east to the west, there would now be two broad freeways. It would have two impacts: it would make it easier for those in the eastern suburbs—particularly around the northern parts of my electorate in Bayswater, Boronia and Wantirna as well as in the electorates of Deakin, Casey and Kooyong—to get into the city along the eastern freeway and across to the other side of Melbourne. To those people who take the Monash Freeway or who rely upon Westgate to get to work it would also make a big difference to have the East West Link built, because it would take pressure off those existing assets by having a further arterial which is also linking up the east and west of Melbourne. Furthermore, by completing this road Melbourne would finally have a ring-road. We are one of the only cities of this size in the world that does not have a ring-road. If we finally connect up from the east to the west we would have a ring-road that would go all around Melbourne.

As I mentioned before, the coalition has made a commitment of $1.5 billion towards the construction of this project. Should we be fortunate enough to win the election on 14 September, then this project will go ahead. It will start within a year and it will be finished within five years. It will create thousands of jobs in Melbourne, particularly construction jobs, and we know that the construction sector is struggling at the moment. It will make it better for businesses and it will make it better for the economy because it will reduce those costs of congestion. Most importantly, it would make it better for families, because people would not have to be in their cars for so long, wasting time. The member for Kooyong pointed out that it would also be good for the environment because traffic which is moving better pollutes less. There would be fewer particles going into the air and less CO2emitted.

People right across Melbourne are going to be beneficiaries of this great project and therefore it is hard to understand why the government has not even listed this project in their 20-year horizon. Perhaps they could not afford it this financial year, but it is not even listed in their 20-year infrastructure horizon which they documented in this year's budget. Through this motion I implore the government to reconsider their position in relation to the East West Link, because it is the top priority for the Victorian government; it is the top-priority project according to the RACV, and for many families and businesses it is also their top priority. We call on the government through this motion to fund the East West Link and match the coalition's commitment.

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