Julia Banks (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I relish this motion as an opportunity to speak about the Turnbull government's record $75 billion funding in infrastructure and financing over the next decade to get vital airport, road and rail infrastructure projects underway across the country. In my electorate of Chisholm, I have advocated for much-needed infrastructure projects, which will directly improve the transit and commute times of thousands of local residents in my electorate as well as people across Melbourne and, indeed, Victoria.

As a born and bred Melburnian, I am delighted to talk about what the Turnbull government has committed to in the 2018 budget, including $5 billion to deliver the Melbourne Airport rail link; $475 million for the planning and preconstruction of a new rail line to the Monash precinct, including Monash University; and notably $140 million for the Victorian congestion package, including targeted congestion-busting measures which will improve traffic issues from Box Hill to Mount Waverly and from Blackburn South to Burwood in my electorate of Chisholm.

The Turnbull government is taking a pragmatic and measured approach to infrastructure funding and financing that will transform our local communities in Chisholm and across Australia. We ensure value for taxpayers by committing funds that stack up economically and deliver the outcomes we need from our transport infrastructure. The good and hardworking people of Chisholm deserve value for their taxes, and I'm proud to represent them and proud to be a member of the Turnbull government—a government that recognises how important transport infrastructure is in shaping our cities and regions. Our infrastructure agenda is an important component of our national economic plan.

In Chisholm, the Monash rail link will provide a much- and long-needed public transport option for Monash University staff and students and, indeed, for all people who travel to and from this growing business precinct of Monash University and its surrounds. Last week, I joined the minister for infrastructure and development, Paul Fletcher, Minister Tudge and Monash University Chancellor, Simon McKeon, for the project announcement at the Monash University's Clayton campus, where I studied. People from across Victoria are set to greatly benefit from this project, and this funding will provide an essential public transport link in Chisholm.

Further, our approach to infrastructure reflects key policy priorities of the Turnbull government, including driving productivity and efficiency in the Australian economy, supporting economic growth and employment outcomes, and planning for the growth and effective functioning of our cities. The Turnbull government has welcomed Infrastructure Australia's report titled Future Cities and agrees with its key finding that unplanned growth will deliver poor outcomes for Australia's cities. We are addressing the challenges faced by growing cities such as Melbourne through a range of measures, including our Smart Cities Plan. The report further affirms why the Turnbull government is investing in congestion-busting projects like the Monash freeway in Chisholm and the M80 ring-road in Melbourne. Other projects like the $5 billion Melbourne Airport rail link will provide the same basic service that's available at all other major airports. Melbourne has been crying out for an airport rail link for years and years, and this will ease the pressure on existing road networks for commuters and freight operators and create thousands of new jobs for those within the city and, indeed, in regional Victoria.

The Turnbull government is setting out its commitment to a long-term plan to progressively build projects that will deliver nationally significant outcomes over the next decade, growing the national economy, shaping our major cities and ensuring we support the increasing role of our regional centres in providing access to employment opportunities. Crucially, the Turnbull government's commitment to these projects is underpinned by the strong economic growth that is flowing from our national economic plan and from our careful, pragmatic and measured stewardship of our economy. We can pay for these vital projects only by living within our means and by growing our economy, such that we ensure that essential services are provided to all Australians.

The coalition, in contrast to Labor, can be trusted to fund these projects in a sustainable and transparent manner, in a strategic manner and in a pragmatic manner. We are working towards a stronger budget to fund the essential services the people of Chisholm, and Australians nationwide, expect.

Debate adjourned.

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