Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A generation ago, the government of then premier Jeff Kennett in Victoria took decisions about infrastructure that have had a very substantial continuing economic effect, in Melbourne in particular and in Victoria more broadly. The extension of the Tullamarine Freeway, the building of the CityLink, the extension of the Monash Freeway and, most significantly, the joining of these together around Melbourne—it was visionary at the time, and has been very positive in terms of not just the amenity for drivers in Melbourne but also the economic benefits, and those economic benefits are continuing. Subsequently, decisions were made by another government in relation to the EastLink exercise in Victoria. The point of this is that these sorts of decisions are very much long-term decisions. They take a visionary look at what is required for a city like Melbourne, and they put in place the changes that need to be made. If you look at the latest data, you will see that the population of Melbourne in 2013-14 alone increased by 95,700 people, bringing the total population to some 4.4 million—in other words, an additional 1,800 people per week are added to the population of Melbourne. This is likely to continue for years into the future. That is reflected in vehicle registrations: in 2010, there were some 4.1 million vehicle registrations in Victoria; by 2015 this had risen to 4.56 million—in other words, an increase of almost half a million vehicles on the roads, or an 11 per cent increase, in just five years. One would expect that, again, that increase will continue into the future.

That is why for my constituents the building of the East West Link remains of paramount consideration. Anybody who drives as I do in Melbourne, from the Eastern Suburbs into Melbourne, in the morning or the afternoon, will know the volume of traffic that uses the East West Link. Equally, there is an increasing volume of traffic on the Monash Freeway in the south-east as well. In particular, what is concerning my constituents is the virtual gridlock, for hours in the morning and the afternoon, around the suburbs of Bulleen and Heidelberg—Rosanna Road, Banksia Street, Burgundy Street and Manningham Road virtually come to a standstill, from early in the morning until mid-morning and then from mid-afternoon until later in the afternoon, every day. It is regretted that the current government of Victoria, the government of Premier Andrews, tore up the East West Link contract. It should be built, and it should be built as soon as possible.