Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to speak today in relation to the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, which is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to provide a transport link for the people of Melbourne's west and more broadly to Melbourne's airport; to provide a transformative opportunity for the development of a precinct for education, employment and health services in Melbourne's west; and to provide for economic development opportunities for Melbourne and for the national economy more broadly. The Melbourne Airport Rail Link will pass through my electorate. Most of the route is in the electorate of Fraser, and I want to provide a speech today which passes on many valuable insights from stakeholders in my electorate as to how this important piece of national infrastructure should be delivered so as to provide the maximum benefit for the west of Melbourne and for our nation more broadly.

The context of this project is very important. This is a project that has been on the table since the 1960s. It's long overdue. Since that time, Melbourne has grown dramatically. Melbourne is, in fact, going through a period of dramatic population growth as we speak. Australia is one of the fastest growing economies in the OECD in terms of population—not in terms of the economy, which is a matter for another day. But, in terms of population, we are one of the fastest-growing nations in the OECD, and Melbourne and Victoria are particularly fast-growing within that context. Melbourne has been growing at more than two per cent for some time now, and Melbourne's north and Melbourne's west are rapidly growing, with many of the fastest-growing LGAs in our country. This is reflected in patronage growth at the airport, which is projected to soar from 39 million per annum today to over 70 million per annum in 20 years time. We need to build infrastructure today that can accommodate that dramatically higher patronage in the future. We also see, of course, road congestion increasing, in terms of both those wanting to travel to the airport and those in the growing suburbs of Melbourne's west and north who are trying to share those very same roads to get to and from work. That's the context in which we find the Melbourne Airport Rail Link so sorely needed.

It is very good to see that this project now has real traction. It should be delivered as soon as possible. But I want to make some comments today to stress that it needs to be done in a way that integrates as effectively as possible with existing transport links in the area. The Melbourne Airport Rail Link will be developed in such a way as to provide a superhub at Sunshine, with Sunshine becoming the major interchange between Melbourne's metropolitan rail services and Victorian regional rail services. Sunshine train station will become one of the busiest train stations in the whole of Victoria. Indeed, it will eventually become the busiest train station outside of the CBD. In turn, this will create an opportunity to create a precinct around Sunshine that is built around employment opportunities, health services and education services. Indeed, the Joan Kirner Women and Children's Hospital, recently opened, is already one of the busiest women's hospitals and one of the busiest hospitals for births in Victoria. And over $1 billion is being invested in Footscray Hospital. So the area surrounding the Sunshine transport hub will become a major employment and health services hub. In addition, VU and VU Polytechnic, with major campuses, including services for many of the young in Melbourne's west, are providing courses for the jobs of the future in cybersecurity and many related fields. So we have not just a transport hub but a precinct, and we must design this precinct in a way that maximises the effectiveness of those health, education and employment opportunities.

It is important to note that the Melbourne Airport Rail Link should be developed in such a way that it dovetails with the Western Rail Plan, which itself is focused on full separation of regional and metropolitan services and additional tracks between Sunshine and the CBD. This is a long-term plan that is about maximising the effectiveness of metropolitan services within Melbourne's rapidly growing west and north. In addition, it needs to dovetail effectively with the Regional Rail Revival, a $1.7 billion investment in upgrades to all regional lines.

Many commentators have recently indicated that we need to get the design of the MARL right. For example, Steve Bracks said that the MARL needs to get commuters to the airport 'in a superior time to any other form of travel', and I agree with that. The Committee for Melbourne has said that the MARL must enable the untangling of Melbourne's metropolitan and regional lines. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. It is a wonderful opportunity for Melbourne's west, and we need to get it right.

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