Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too, like so many on this side of the House, was proud to be part of the opening of the Regional Rail Link. The Regional Rail Link in my part of the world will make a difference. In the seat of Bendigo there are six train stations. They are in parts of a commuter town. We are talking about Castlemaine. We are talking about Woodend, Kyneton, Malmsbury and Macedon. They will all have more services. More people will be able to get to work on time. More people will be able to travel to Melbourne and get there on time.

What is so critical about this project is the fact that it untangled the regional rail network from the metro network. Not only does it mean that we will have more regional rail services connecting people from the regions to this city, but it also means that we will be able to have more metro services.

The solution to our problems when it comes to congestion is investing more in public transport, whether it be supporting regional rail or supporting metro rail. What we have seen from Labor governments, state and federal, is that critical funding and that critical planning. What we have not seen from this government or from Liberal governments is funding—funding to go towards infrastructure projects like public transport. Instead, they have cut. They have taken money away, putting pressure on the public network system. What this government needs to do is get behind public transport, stop cutting ribbons and start investing in public— (Time expired)