Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise again to draw the attention of the House of the debilitating impact that traffic congestion continues to have in my home state of Victoria, and to highlight the positive plan that this government has to fix the problems. Without decisive action, congestion will soon cost the Victorian economy $9 billion each year. That is why this government has announced plans that includes support for six major transport infrastructure projects to get Melbourne moving again. These projects include the widening of the Monash Freeway, the construction of the 'missing link' in the Ring Road and, most importantly, the East West Link. Each of these projects will provide relief for some of the key congestion hotspots in our city, particularly those in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

In contrast, all that Bill Shorten has is a bit of a thought bubble that includes no new ideas, no new projects and no understanding of their impact in the foreseeable future. But why would we expect anything more from Labor? After all, this is the party that spent $640 million not to build the East West Link, which they inherited from the former state government. In contrast, this government maintains $3 billion on the table to build the East West Link, which will save commuters in my electorate three hours of travel time per week. I want to thank Minister Hunt and the Minister for Cities and the Built Environment for their work in putting together this wonderful infrastructure plan for Victoria.

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