Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to move a motion concerning the East West Link, one of the most important infrastructure projects in Victoria's history. I move:

That this House:

(1)   recognises that:

(a) the Australian Government will contribute $1.5 billion towards the completion of the western section (Stage Two) of Melbourne's East West Link;

(b) the commitment to Stage Two of the East West Link is in addition to the Commonwealth's $1.5 billion contribution towards the $6 to $8 billion Stage One section of the East West Link; and

(c) together, Stage One and Stage Two will create some 6,700 construction jobs which are so important for Melbourne, Geelong and south-west Victoria; and

(2) notes that the:

(a) East West Link is critical to:

(i) easing congestion on the West Gate Bridge and improving Geelong's transport links to Melbourne;

(ii) easing congestion on the Eastern Freeway and alleviating major traffic bottlenecks at Hoddle Street and Alexandra Parade; and

(iii) improving freight efficiency and connections for major industries in Melbourne's outer east, north and south east to the Port of Melbourne and international airports;

(b) East West Link will never happen under a Labor Government—state Labor opposes the project despite estimates that the cost of Melbourne's road congestion will grow to $5 billion per annum by 2021 and $7.2 billion by 2031, more than double current levels; and

(c) Victorian Leader of the Opposition has described the East West Link as a 'grand hoax' and has threatened to rip up any contracts that are signed in respect of the project and in doing so, has shown contempt for the people of Victoria.

The East West Link is vital to Victoria, vital to Geelong and vital to Corangamite, the electorate I proudly represent. Often, governments are accused of not having vision, of not thinking long term. Here is yet one more project which reflects the Victorian government's long-term vision for our great state: its long-term commitment to investment in transport infrastructure. As I have mentioned, the federal government is proudly backing this project, to the tune of $3 billion, building the roads of the 21st century—money which will be lost, of course, if state Labor is elected on Saturday.

I note we have a very proud Geelong delegation in the House gallery today, all of whom are backing the East West Link because they know how important this is for our region. They know how important it is for jobs, for our future, for our economic prosperity, at a time when every job in our city is important. Darryn Lyons, the mayor of the City of Greater Geelong, is here. Deputy Mayor Bruce Harwood; the CEO, Gill Miles; Kylie Warne and Bernadette Uzelac from the Geelong Chamber of Commerce; Elaine Carbines, representing G21; and, just so as to not miss anyone out, the former member for South Barwon Alistair Paterson are all here. All are backing the East West Link because they know how important it is.

Look, in contrast, at Daniel Andrews. He is no John Brumby; he is no Steve Bracks. That is quite clear. His commitment to tear up the contracts for the East West Link and shut this project down is one of the most politically reckless, economically destructive actions of any political leader we have seen. Ripping up contracts will expose the state to millions of dollars of liability and signal to the rest of the country and the world that we cannot be trusted when they are doing business with us.

Today I want to focus on the benefits of the western section to Geelong and my electorate of Corangamite. Under a Napthine government, construction will start at the end of 2015. At the moment, some 14,000 Geelong motorists commute to Melbourne every day for work. From Werribee onwards, it is a quagmire. The western section will save commuters three hours a week in travel time, it will deliver a second river crossing and it will unblock the terrible quagmire—the carpark—we see leading up to West Gate Bridge. The West Gate Bridge is currently terribly congested, carrying some 200,000 vehicles a day, and the new western section will provide capacity for around 100,000 vehicles per day.

As we in Geelong know, it is all about jobs. Here is one of the most important projects for jobs we have seen in many years—6,700 jobs. The western section alone will create 3,000 jobs. We in Geelong need these jobs. These are jobs that Labor is trying to shut down. Frankly, it is an absolute disgrace. Two weeks ago I was very proud to stand side by side with the member for South Barwon, Andrew Katos, and with local candidates in the Geelong region—Paula Contelj in Geelong, Ron Nelson in Bellarine, Tony McManus in Lara—fighting for the East West Link. They know how important this is for our future, as is the Great Ocean Road upgrade. Unfortunately, the member for Grayndler, who is speaking next, fought against that one as well. But Andrew Katos and those local candidates understand how important this project is for business. I note that the Assistant Minister for Infrastructure is also in the House—a great champion for building the roads of the 21st century.

Mr Albanese interjecting—

That is not true! The member for Grayndler has just made another false statement to the House—saying that we do not build anything. Construction on the Great Ocean Road has already commenced. It is so exciting to see our investment in the roads of the 21st century. I tell you what: the East West Link is going to revolutionise our city—and that is what we need!

Let me just give an example. Journey Management, a wonderful transport and logistics company in Geelong, employs some 200 people. They estimate that the East West Link—I met the CEO, Shane Blakeborough, just a few days ago—will save the company a million dollars a year in fuel, in maintenance and in productivity gains. Currently, it is cheaper for his trucks to drive from Geelong to Albury than it is for them to drive from Geelong to Dandenong. The East West Link will also mean that, rather than do one trip a day, he will be able to do two trips a day from Geelong to Dandenong. That is a massive boost to the productivity of a very important business in Geelong.

What is extraordinary about Labor's position is that just six years ago the Leader of the Opposition, along with the member for Gorton and the former members for Gellibrand and Lalor—former Prime Minister Gillard—threw his support behind an east-west link. They actually said in a submission to the East West Link needs assessment study:

We support a cross-city road link from the western suburbs to the Eastern Freeway. The consequences of doing nothing are negative and far-reaching. They will threaten Melbourne's future economic success and liveability. Substantial new investment is needed in the transport network to avoid these consequences and to support the changes taking place across Melbourne, including opening up new jobs and business opportunities across the city. Doing nothing therefore is not an option.

That is why I have launched a petition. I urge anyone who has not signed it to go onto my website, sarahhenderson.com.au, and sign the petition, calling on all MPs in this place including Labor MPs, particularly the Leader of the Opposition, particularly the member for Corio and the member for Ballarat—and I note that unfortunately the member for Corio is not even speaking on this debate, which is very telling, I have to say. I can say that already hundreds have signed this petition, urging members on both sides of the House to back the East West Link.

I have also called on local unions and local union leaders to back the East West Link. Previously, they were supportive of the western section because they know how important this is for jobs and for economic growth, and now there is deafening silence. They are putting their partisan political games ahead of jobs. I say to Geelong Trades Hall and to other local union leaders: put jobs ahead of politics and back the East West Link.

It is vital to have coalition governments in Spring Street as well as Canberra if Victorian families are to have the job creation they need and deserve. The simple fact is: Victoria cannot afford to lose all the hard-gained earnings of the last four years by going back to Labor. Labor cannot be trusted to keep Victoria's finances in order. Labor cannot be trusted to manage money. They cannot be trusted to deliver on their promises. The promise of Daniel Andrews and his insidious links with the CFMEU, which seems to be running the Labor opposition more than anyone else, is the most reckless and economically destructive commitment that has ever been seen in the state of Victoria. Look what they are also doing with Bay West, another destructive project for our environment. So I urge all MPs to get on board and back the East West Link. For Victoria, vote Denis Napthine's government in on Saturday.

Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

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

Yes, Mr Deputy Speaker, I second the motion.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

American diplomat and thinker Benjamin Franklin once made an astute observation about the nature of advice. 'Wise men don't need advice,' Franklin said, 'and fools won't take it.' When it comes to investing in infrastructure, the Prime Minister, like Franklin's fool, won't take advice. The Prime Minister is investing a total of $3 billion in the East West Link road project in Melbourne. This is precisely the same amount that was cut from the Melbourne Metro project. This is in spite of the expert advice from Infrastructure Australia and Victoria's planning and traffic experts that the Melbourne Metro is a higher priority. The expert advice is that the metro will deliver more public benefit for the investment, improving the reach, quality and frequency of public transport services in Melbourne. It would take thousands of cars off the roads. It would improve commuting times for train users. It is necessary work if other new lines, such as a link to the airport, are to be possible. It would make more room for people who continue to use the city's roads.

But the Prime Minister has his own ideas. He outlined those ideas in his 2009 political manifesto Battlelines, in which he wrote:

Mostly, there just aren't enough people wanting to go from a particular place to a particular destination at a particular time to justify any vehicle larger than a car, and cars need roads …

This loopy view explains why, upon taking office, the Prime Minister cancelled all Commonwealth investment in public transport projects right across the nation. Whilst the Treasurer believes that poor people do not drive too far, the Prime Minister believes that people do not use public transport. This kind of weird ideology, this complete ignorance of the daily lives of millions of everyday Australians who rely on public transport, is the policy context of the motion before us. Of course, the political context is Saturday's Victorian election. The motion's mover seeks to boost the political stocks of her Liberal Party colleagues, who are in real trouble leading up to Saturday's election.

The truth is that both projects, in terms of roads and rail, seek to address traffic congestion. I believe you need to invest in roads, but you need to invest in rail also—not one or the other but both—and you need to direct the priorities based upon Infrastructure Australia's advice. It is why we allocated more investment in public transport than all other Commonwealth governments combined since federation.

Importantly, Infrastructure Australia was created to give advice based upon cost-benefit analyses which are published. Why is it that the East West Link cost-benefit analysis is still not published and still not available, in spite of the fact that $1½ billion has already been forwarded? In its 2013 Infrastructure Priority List, the Melbourne Metro and the upgrade of the M80 road were right at the top. The East West Link is further down the list, with potential, but the cost-benefit analysis had not been completed. The former Labor government took this advice and allocated money for the M80 upgrade and for the Melbourne Metro. The Victorian government initially backed the Metro and in 2012 spent $118,000 of public funds to produce a video simulating a journey on the new train line, as was published by The Age last week. The federal government had already invested $40 million on the planning. The Metro was ready to go, recommended by Infrastructure Australia, so the Abbott government cut $3 billion from the budget. The next stage of the M80 upgrade is ready to go, with all planning completed, positive BCR, over $1 billion already invested to improve productivity on this ring road. It was recommended by Infrastructure Australia. So the Abbott government cut $500 million from the budget. Then there is the project that is part of the Managed Motorways program, to the east of Melbourne. This use of smart infrastructure has the highest ever benefit-cost ratio of any project recommended by Infrastructure Australia. The Monash Freeway section between Warrigal Road and Clyde Road has a benefit-cost ratio of 5.2—$5.20 return on every dollar invested. So what did the government do? The Abbott government cut $68.6 million from the budget. The Napthine government now also champions the East West Link, but it was revealed in The Age last week that the Victorian government's senior traffic planners wanted to stick with the Metro. Instead, they have an alternative plan that does not even pass through the Melbourne CBD.

Ignoring expert advice is bad enough, but the Prime Minister's actions also breach one of his fundamental election promises. Just days before the federal election the Prime Minister told the National Press Club:

I have given a commitment that we won't spend more than more than $100 million on any single infrastructure project without a published cost-benefit analysis.

Well, there is no published cost-benefit analysis and as recently as 20 October the head of Infrastructure Australia, John Fitzgerald, told the Senate budget estimates committee hearing:

We are still in the process of assessing that project. We have not formed a final view on that.

I have got news for Mr Fitzgerald—the government does not care what Infrastructure Australia thinks about this project. It has already handed over $1½ billion, including $1 billion for stage 2 of the project, which will not start until 2016 at the earliest. This is at the same time that the government is demanding widows, invalid pensioners, students and average mums and dads do their bit for the so-called budget emergency that they talk about. But they have a billion dollars to hand over years in advance of this project, in spite of the clear commitment that was given by the assistant minister that there would be a milestone payments. He said:

That we're hitting milestones, that we're only making payments to states when they actually deliver the milestones, that they're not getting money in their bank account prior to milestones being delivered

Yet, $1½ billion is in their bank account—earning interest; not creating jobs, not doing anything to build infrastructure, just sitting in a bank account earning interest.

Our cities are under siege from worsening traffic congestion. You do not need to be a Rhodes scholar to know that the roads alone are not the solution. Public transport is part of the solution, and here is a good example— construction of the Regional Rail Link began in 2010. The project will untangle freight and passenger lines connecting the Melbourne CBD to Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong. It will provide an extra 54,000 commuter seats a day. It is the biggest single Commonwealth investment in public transport in the nation's history, with more than 15,000 workers involved so far. The Regional Rail Link will take 45,000 cars off the road during peak periods and save the state's economy $300 million per year. Best of all, it is ahead of time and under budget.

What was the incoming coalition government's response in Victoria to this project? They stopped it. They paused the project when they came into office and tried to renegotiate for funding to go to other projects. They said that this was a project that was over budget—not true. They did that by refusing to take into account the contingency reserve that were factored in for this vital project for Melbourne and for Victoria. Eventually, after spending months criticising it, attempting to negotiate with the federal government, it went ahead—but it went ahead in spite of the Victorian government. And in spite of the fact that they said this was a wasteful project, they have not missed a photo opportunity. They do not invite the federal members who were responsible for getting the funds for this project or the local state members, but state ministers have been turning up at these openings of new stations such as West Footscray. There are other stations in the Werribee region that are ready to be opened but the state government now pretends that this is their project—nothing could be further from the truth.

The fact is that, if our nation wants an effective, properly integrated transport system that delivers productivity gains for the entire economy, the Commonwealth must invest in public transport. If we want to liberate long-suffering Australians in drive-in, drive-out suburbs, the Commonwealth must invest in public transport. If we want to reduce carbon emissions, the Commonwealth must invest in public transport. We need an infrastructure strategy that is about integrated transport in our cities and in our regions, and that is the way forward.

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

We have just heard the member for Grayndler speak for 10 minutes on this motion, and he is so embarrassed by his party's position that he barely mentioned the East West Link in those 10 minutes. I can understand why he is embarrassed by Labor's position. For more than two years, I have spoken endlessly about the importance of building the East West Link, both to my electorate of Deakin and Victorians more broadly. As I rise to speak here today, on the eve of the state election in Victoria, I do so with an even greater sense of urgency and awareness of how this piece of nation-building infrastructure will lift up our state and what Labor's recklessness is putting at risk.

I congratulate my friend the member for Corangamite for putting forward this motion today as a timely reminder of the benefits of building the East West Link and the federal government's very significant contribution to this project. I know that people in her electorate are calling for the East West Link, just as people in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, including in my electorate of Deakin and in the member for Chisholm's electorate, are eager for construction to commence on this major road project so that traffic can be reduced on the Eastern Freeway and the Monash Freeway.

Deakin families are fed up with wasting their precious time being stuck in traffic on the Eastern Freeway or the Monash Freeway—time that they could be spending with their loved ones at home or being productive at work. I know just how fed up the people in Deakin are with traffic congestion, because they literally tell me every day. That is why my commitment to the Deakin electorate at the last election was to deliver federal funding for the East West Link, to secure jobs, to reduce congestion and to boost productivity. I am therefore very proud of our $3 billion contribution to this project. This includes $1.5 billion for stage 1, the eastern section, which is a six-kilometre link from the Eastern Freeway through to City Link at Parkville; and another $1.5 billion for stage 2, which the member for Corangamite has spoken about.

Anyone who has made the daily commute, east to west, across the city—as many of my constituents do—understands the incredible pressure placed on the existing infrastructure. By 2031, there will be an additional 400,000 vehicles doing that commute. Quite simply, it is unsustainable. But I have good news for members opposite—there is a solution, and the solution will be the construction of stage 1 of the East West Link, which will cater for an additional 120,000 vehicles by 2031. It will drastically cut travel times between the Eastern Freeway and City Link, and significantly reduce congestion at the end of the Eastern Freeway. Construction of the eastern section will create 3,700 jobs and provide a much needed boost to our economy, with 90 per cent of construction funds to be spent on local services. My colleague the member for Corangamite has spoken about the similar benefits for the western section, which of itself will create 3,000 jobs. This funding will enable 6,700 jobs.

Whatever way you look at it, this is a vital project for Victoria—a fact which, until not long ago, had bipartisan support. Those opposite agreed to it. In July 2008, none other than the Leader of the Opposition put his name on a submission to the Department of Transport, supporting the East West Link. I suppose we all know that the opposition leader is prone to changing his mind from time to time—just ask Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. So, federal Labor has now done an almighty backflip to oppose the East West Link project—all for the sake of supporting the Victorian Labor Party, as it desperately tries to protect a handful of inner-city votes from the Greens. In doing so, the Labor Party has abandoned Melbourne's east.

Ms Burke interjecting—

I look forward to the member for Chisholm rising to support this motion. I suggest to the Victorian Labor members that they leave their inner city suburbs of East Melbourne or Fitzroy and actually spend some time in our suburbs to understand how draining a commute on the Eastern Freeway in peak hour can be. Those opposite have stood by as their Victorian counterpart led by Daniel Andrews—or Dan Andrews—has vowed to tear up the contracts for the East west Link. It is absolutely clear that only coalition governments in Spring Street and in Canberra will deliver the East west Link. As part of the coalition, I will continue to fight for the delivery of this project for the people of Deakin and all residents of the eastern suburbs, including those in the electorate for Chisolm.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on this motion, but I will neither surprise nor disappoint the member for Deakin when I say that I do not support this completely wasteful tunnel. This is a truck tunnel—an $18 billion truck tunnel that will mean no other project built in Victoria from here to eternity. That much money going to one project will ensure that all our electorates never have anything else built, particularly in regional Victoria.

It will not resolve the problem of traffic congestion that, yes, my constituents feel every day. Yes, I understand this problem. I drove down that road this morning to get to the airport and, yes, when I hit the end of the Eastern Freeway, got to Alexander Parade and got through all those traffic lights, it was a crawl—a moaning crawl. The tragedy is that this traffic problem and this congestion will not be resolved by this $18 billion fest by the coalition government in Victoria or federally. Indeed, actual modelling has demonstrated that the time will increase for commuters who want to go to town. The majority of my constituents and those in the electorate of Deakin, when they get to the end of the eastern, are not turning right, as I did this morning to go to the airport.

It may resolve some issues for commuters to the airport and for freight, but it is not going to help the majority of my electorate who turn left to go to work in town. Indeed, the travel time for them will increase. It will increase—I am not wrong; I have the modelling to prove it. The modelling from Veich Lister reveals that building the tunnel will actually increase traffic on key sections of Melbourne's road network. Hoddle Street near the Eastern Freeway will increase the morning peak time by 35 per cent; Manningham near Bulleen Road will increase 25 per cent in the am and 20 per cent in the pm; the Eastern Freeway link near the East west Link Tunnel will increase travel time by 69 per cent—it will not decrease travel time. The cost blow-out is enormous.

If we are talking about backflips, let us look at the backflip on this one. Terry Mulder in 2010 said:

You made that up … you were wrong …We are not going to this election with a plan …

for an East-West Tunnel. That is what they said in 2010. Terry Mulder is on my side because he also said:

You're not going to drive yourself out of a problem. Our view is that the answer is an effective, reliable public transport system. That's what's needed here—more investment in public transport.

Why don't we hear those opposite talking about putting the light rail down the Eastern? Let's talk about that and let's talk about really resolving congestion problems in this area.

The designers of City Link, Alan Hale and his colleagues at engineering firm Acer Wargon Chapman have criticised the East west Link.

Mr Hale says the 5.2 kilometre toll road is "the wrong priority and will not alleviate congestion across the city" and that the Napthine government is set to sign on to a project that will set Melbourne back for years.

"The evidence from cities around the world where real renewal has been achieved is public transport should be the primary focus," he said.

"For those of us who have been involved in major transport projects long enough, the lessons learnt, often the hard way, are that building more roads without investing in public transport is simply a recipe for inducing more vehicular travel." Mr Hale, no public transport purist, argues completing the "missing link" in the ring road between Greensborough and the Eastern Freeway would "make a lot of sense" because, unlike the East West Link, it would divert traffic from the inner suburbs.

That was reported in The Age in September 2014, entitled 'Wrong Way on Road Link'. Yes, it is the wrong way on this road link. This is an enormous amount of money going into a tunnel that will not resolve the problem and will put a huge impost and impact on our community and our assets.

You just need to look at what is going to happen around the Parkville precinct: the Parkville Cricket Club, the Seeing Eye Dog training centre, the Urban Camp, the impact on the Moonee Ponds Creek, the birdlife in Kensington, Flemington and North Melbourne area, the loss of playground space at the Flemington housing estate, the significant loss of trees on Flemington Road, the Clifton Hill Primary School and the Chinese aged-care facility at Parkville. This will be a huge impost on my electorate with many people concerned about what is going to happen to their aged people. This tunnel is the wrong way to go.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to rise today to talk on this issue because this is an issue about trust and it is an issue about who we should trust to govern the state of Victoria. We all know the Victorian people will go to the ballot box on Saturday, and they have to think clearly about their decision on Saturday. Ultimately they need to decide who they will trust to run the state of Victoria for the next four years. Will they trust Daniel, Dan or Danny Andrews—or is it Andrew Daniels? Or will they trust Denis Napthine and the competent job that he has done in governing the state over the last couple of years. Will they trust Dan Andrews? He said:

A government that actually values our state's reputation and good name doesn't rip up contracts.'

That is what he said on 13 August this year. And yet by 11 September, less than a month later, he said:

I think a ream of Reflex paper would be worth more than those contracts.

He said he would rip the contracts up. Is this a man that the Victorian people can trust?

To quote Friedrich Nietzsche, 'I'm not upset that you lied to me,' Daniel Andrews,' I'm upset that, from now on, I can't believe you.' This is what the Victorian people need to think about on Saturday. They cannot trust this individual. He has lied to them, and it will mean that from now on they will never quite be able to believe what he has said to them, because in the back of their minds they will know that when it came to East West Link he said one thing in August and then, a month later, he said completely the opposite—and he was absolutely shamefaced about it. This election is going to boil down to trust. As far as I am concerned, there is only one person that I can trust to lead the Victorian government for the next four years, and that is Denis Napthine.

Let's have a look at what this project will do. Let's have a look at the key facts around East West Link and what it will mean for Victoria. It will provide capacity for around 100,000 vehicles per day; reduce congestion on the West Gate Bridge, which is currently carrying an unsustainable 200,000 vehicles a day; provide a 15- to 20-minute time-saving for people travelling from Geelong, Werribee, Altona and Laverton to the city; provide a 10- to 15-minute time-saving for people travelling from Ballarat, Melton and Caroline Springs to the city; cut 15 to 20 minutes off a typical trip from the freight and logistics precinct in Truganina in Melbourne's west to the Port of Melbourne; and create up to 3,000 jobs during construction. That last point is the most significant.

The coalition federally and at a state level want to grow the Victorian economy. We want to provide jobs for the Victorian state. We want to make sure that Victoria will go ahead, like it did after the Kennett government built the infrastructure that the state needed. This state government, with the support of the coalition federal government, wants to do exactly the same thing again. It wants to put Victoria in first place when it comes to first-class infrastructure. It wants to Victoria to lead the way when it comes to first-class infrastructure. It wants to provide jobs that will result in us putting in place that first-class infrastructure. Yet what do we have from the other side at the state level and here? We have opposition to job-creating infrastructure.

I plead with the Victorian people when they go to the ballot box on Saturday: think long and hard about your decision. You need to think ultimately about who you can trust to deliver for Victoria for the next four years.

Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this timely debate, with the state election in Victoria some five days away. On this side of the House we do not support the East West Link, and we have various reasons for not supporting it. We support the Victorian opposition leader Daniel Andrews's position against the East West Link. We do so because the Eddington report recommended a west-east link, that the west section be the first priority. This is now stretching out—the budget papers suggest until 2023; I would suggest it is at least 15 years away. The member for Corangamite earlier cited support from the previous member for Lalor for the project. Of course, the previous member for Lalor's support for the project was for the initial west-east link. Since then, under a Napthine government, many things have changed.

One of the things that has changed is that the Western Distributor was taken off the agenda. The Western Distributor, which Daniel Andrews's government will deliver if elected on Saturday, is exactly what the west of Victoria needs, it exactly what the Western suburbs need and it is exactly what Geelong needs, because it is immediate—it would be delivered in four years—and it would take 5,000 trucks off the West Gate Freeway. It is shovel-ready and ready to go. But, instead, we have the member for Corangamite in here talking about the East West Link as a saviour for the west, with a time line leading out to the never-never. It certainly will not be delivered under a Napthine government if it gets another term. It will take three terms for this to be delivered. Meanwhile, the number of people on the roads from the west of Melbourne accessing the city increases daily, as do the number of trucks, as do the dangerous accidents that are occurring involving cars and trucks.

The other part of this argument is to look at the federal funding for the eastern section, stage 1 of the East West Link, where we have contributed $1.5 billion. It is difficult to make the case for stage 1 of the East West Link being of any benefit to the west of Melbourne—any benefit whatsoever. It will not improve travel times from the west to the airport like it will in the east, and it will not be a significant improvement on travel times for people from the west to get to the east.

Then there is the issue we have with cost. The true cost is unknown. We did have some academics recently determine that they think that the cost is actually going to be closer to $18 billion, with no value at all for the west of the state. Then there is the issue of the contract and the secrecy around the contract to date and the fact that there has not been a business case put to the Victorian public—put to anyone in fact. So the rush to get the contracts signed before this state election is something that the Victorian public are struggling to come to terms with. As the member for Chisholm so nicely put it, there is also the question of the absolute incessant priority around roads over public transport. What we are going to get with the Western Distributor, as the first cab off the rank for an Andrews government, would be fewer trucks on the road for the West Gate, at a fraction of the cost, and we will not wait in the west for the year 2023.

Another thing that people on the other side talk about a lot in this debate is jobs. Let's be clear.

Debate interrupted.