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

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the Government's $2.57 billion in funding in the 2022 October Budget for the infrastructure Victoria, and Victorians need, including:

(a) $2.2 billion for the Suburban Rail Loop;

(b) $57 million for the Ison Road Rail Overpass in Wyndham;

(c) $150 million for the Camerons Lane Interchange in Beveridge; and

(d) $125 million to upgrade Barwon Heads Road;

(2) notes this funding will make journeys quicker, and make sure Victorians can get home to their families safely, and comes after a decade of neglect for Victorian Infrastructure from the former Government; and thanks the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government and the Prime Minister for working with the Victorian Government.

After a decade of neglect under the former Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Liberal government, I'm pleased to report that federal investment in the seat of Lalor is back, federal infrastructure investment is back and so are serious processes to ensure that projects stack up. After a decade of Victoria being starved of infrastructure investment by the Liberals, the budget handed down by Labor the last time this House met involved $2.57 billion in funding for Victorian infrastructure. I'm sure the members for McEwen, Corangamite and Jagajaga, who will speak after me, will explain how this investment will benefit the people in other parts of the great state of Victoria. But this is a big win for the outer west.

The budget includes joint funding with the state Andrews Labor government to build the $114 million Ison Road Rail Overpass in my community in Wyndham, with the construction to begin next year. Known to some as stage 1 of the Wyndham Westlink, this project will construct a road overpass bridge across the Melbourne-Geelong railway line, extending the South Road towards Browns Road and connecting with the local section of the Ison Road to be constructed by Wyndham City Council. The project scope includes a new four-lane road and a bridge over the rail line that is future-proofed for six lanes and has a shared-user path for active transport. This will ink the new and booming suburbs in the west of Wyndham to the freeway.

The current residents of Wyndham Vale, Manor Lakes, Harpley and Jubilee won't be the only beneficiaries of this city-shaping project. By 2036 this road is expected to have almost 30,000 daily users. As a result, by these residents having the direct link to the freeway, almost 30,000 cars will be off the roads rather than travelling into Werribee only to head back out again to the freeway. This is what you call conjecture busting: forward thinking, planned for our growth area.

While the Victorian state Labor government have done amazing things regarding infrastructure in our growing community—like removing the three level crossings in Wyndham; spending $1.8 billion on the Western Roads Upgrade, $1.2 billion in the north of my electorate; expanding parking options at local train stations and providing more services on the regional rail link—it requires federal and state governments to work together to deliver this type of city-shaping infrastructure. For almost 10 years our community, one of the fastest-growing in the nation, was starved of federal infrastructure investment. This bridge was committed to by Labor in opposition at the previous election, and those opposite failed to do that funding in the last term. Unlike when the Prime Minister was infrastructure minister and our community saw huge infrastructure investment worth over $4 billion in local infrastructure projects, we saw nothing under the Liberals. My message to locals is this: we finally have Spring Street and Canberra working together to deliver this project. Let's continue this collaboration beyond 26 November.

For context, we got nothing out of the state Liberals the last time they were in office—not one school built in the fastest-growing community in the country in their last four-year term. You can't trust people who claim to have the solutions to problems X and Y when they did nothing about it when they had the chance. That's the truth. Only federal and state Labor governments will deliver for my growing community. That is evidenced here by the commitment to this bridge, to this overpass that will take 30,000 cars out of the middle of Werribee and put them directly onto the M1.

I can't wait until this bridge opens. I can't wait until people can find their way onto that freeway more quickly and save themselves 15 or 20 minutes on their daily commute each way, simply by having a state and federal Labor government that is committed to improving the lives of people who live in our growth corridors and committed to ensuring that projects stack up and deliver for communities.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Alan Tudge (Aston, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If ever there was an example of the Labor Party neglecting the eastern and south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne it is this year's infrastructure budget by the new Albanese government. When you look at what they did, effectively they cut so many projects from the eastern and south-eastern suburbs and placed a lot of money back over into the west of Melbourne—and, funnily enough, into their seats, many of which are marginal seats. I want to go through some of those key projects that have been cut. These are projects that, in many cases, have been on the books for decades and which, in many cases, have been prioritised by VicRoads themselves for more than a decade yet they have been cut from the budget. The money was there. We finally delivered the money for these projects but they've been cut. Let me take you through them.

Perhaps the most obvious one is the duplication of Wellington Road. This was prioritised by VicRoads almost 15 years ago. The reason is that it was at capacity then. Back in 2016, there was a study done that showed 20,000 cars on this road every single day. It was full and, believe me, there's been a lot more traffic since. It's also had, in the five years up until that point, well over 100 crashes with many serious injuries and one fatality. It's a very dangerous road. It also happens to be the major evacuation route from any fires up in the Dandenongs. So it's a critically important road to be duplicated, and that was the funding that we got to get that to happen. Incidentally, the Labor Party matched the exact same funding. What have they done now, though, in this budget? That's gone. They promised it. We promised it. Money now gone. I'll also go through other projects that they've cut.

There's the Dorset Road extension. There's been $80 million allocated. It's been on the books for decades. We finally delivered the money. This Labor government cut it: money gone. There's the Napoleon Road duplication, desperately needed for all of those residents who travel that road from Rowville or Lysterfield and further afield. They know it's desperately needed. It's gone. There are the commuter carparks for Boronia and Ferntree Gully. These are desperately needed, because they get full early—

Gov ernment members interjecting—

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member is entitled to be heard in silence.

Alan Tudge (Aston, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and it just means people drive further along until they get to the next one. They also won't be funded. There's the Rowville-Monash rail, with $475 million allocated. That would have finally connected Monash University to the rail line. It was there. It's been on the books for decades. It has also been axed. Have a look, though, at what has been funded. They've neglected the east. They got rid of the East West Link. They scrapped all these projects. What have they funded in this budget? I'll take you through some of them.

We have the one that the member for Lalor was just referring to, the Ison Road overpass, in the member's own electorate. There's another one over in Corangamite, a marginal Labor seat. There's a further one, Camerons Lane interchange, in a marginal seat in McEwen, up in the north. There's a further one in McEwen for the Macedon and shire roads—another Labor marginal seat. There's another one for a business case upgrade in the Labor seats of Hawke and Gorton. There is one little project—$10 million only—for Gippsland, a safe National Party seat.

Effectively, the money's been taken out of the eastern and south-eastern suburbs—as they always do, as they did with the East West Link scrapping—and put into Labor seats in the west and north, with one exception: $2.2 billion for Dan Andrews' pet project, the suburban rail loop, a project that will go from Box Hill down to Cheltenham—which no-one ever takes—for $35 billion. It hasn't been cleared by Infrastructure Australia. The business case didn't stack up. The Auditor-General found that it only got a 50c return for every dollar invested. But it's Dan Andrews' pet project on the eve of an election so that one gets funded as well. It's a disgrace, and the eastern and south-eastern suburban residents have been left out, yet again, by the Labor Party.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll tell you what, that's the biggest own goal since Yeppoon versus Yeppoon, isn't it, putting the member for Aston up to talk about infrastructure—the architect of the carpark rorts scheme! There were carparks being built where there are no railway stations. He sits there and says, 'Oh, the eastern suburbs of Melbourne are missing out,' despite the fact they're getting $2.2 billion in spending. But what's great—and I want to get this on the record before the member for Aston scurries out—is that he is the man responsible for having claiming to fund extra lanes on the Hume Highway but then doing a dodgy deal separately and never doing it. It was never delivered.

He wants to talk about Camerons Lane. Camerons Lane is going to open up jobs and infrastructure for schools, health and all that. In fact, they committed to it, and now he's complaining because we're actually delivering it. This is just hilarious. Why the opposition would put him up as their lead speaker is beyond the pale. This is the man who was the architect of all the rorts and rip-offs that we had to put up with during the last election.

But now we have a government of mature members who actually want to go and get things done and work together. We know that they promised the Wallan ramps but never delivered them. In fact, in three years they hadn't even delivered the planning money to put them in, because, when it comes to infrastructure, that lot opposite were all talk, no action. We'd see more press releases than we'd see any delivery in the north or the west, and that's because this minister here—the former minister, sorry—is just an embarrassment, and, gladly, he is now a former minister. You wouldn't think he was from Victoria, would you? Really! The vast majority of money that goes to Victoria goes into the eastern suburbs, and he's complaining about it.

The East West Link was a prime example. He went to two elections saying, 'The East West Link is a referendum. If the Nationals and Liberals in Victoria win, it should be done.' Guess what? They lost them. In fact, Daniel Andrews has one of the largest majorities through that specific project. Talk about flogging a dead horse—it's over there!

But let's talk about what is happening. What is happening as that we are finally seeing governments working together. In regard to the Watson Street interchange, I was with the Deputy Premier, Minister Ros Spence and Lauren Kathage, Labor's great candidate for Yan Yean, as they announced $130 million to finish off the Watson Street interchange on the Hume Highway. This will save people up to 45 minutes each way when they are getting in and out of town, something those opposite promised and promised but never delivered. We've done that in five months. Not only did we commit to it; we've delivered the funding. Imagine that: having two governments working together to do the things that actually matter for our communities. That's what is happening with the Watson Street ramps.

We heard the Liberal candidates time and time again spread the lies: 'We're going to do it. We're going to do it. We're going to do it.' Yet, after nine years in government, what did we receive? Nothing. In fact, that minister and his mate, the member for Hume, were out there saying that the Labor MP had delivered nothing for our communities in nine years. That was the nine years that they were in government. Yet every single thing we have promised is being delivered.

He talked about Mitchell and Macedon Ranges road problems. There are absolutely lots of problems, as a result weather and a whole heap of things, but that was money they committed to as well, so he's complaining about money that we are actually investing in communities—doing what matters for our constituents—that is the same money that they were going to invest. The hypocrisy is just amazing, and you really wonder how he sits on the front bench over there. I guess it's not actually an IQ race over there, is it? because they'd be struggling to get double digits at the best of times.

What we've seen is the Albanese Labor government working with state governments, including the Premier of New South Wales, who said he felt he'd been robbed because New South Wales didn't get everything. Well, we know the former Prime Minister for Sydney, the member for Cook, who was the Treasurer, the health minister, the office cleaner, the COMCAR driver and anything else you could think of, was loading money into Sydney left, right and centre to support Gladys Berejiklian and was ripping Victorians off. Victorians and the rest of Australia have said: 'Enough's enough. We want a government that actually does things that matter.' And that's what is happening.

Through this infrastructure spend that we have and that we have delivered through this budget, after a lot of hard work from our MPs and candidates working together and working with their state governments of all persuasions, we've actually got results that matter. Watson Street will happen only under a federal Labor government and a Victorian Labor government. It will not happen under a Liberal government, because it never has and never will, and it's about time those opposite apologised.

Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is remarkable that we are being asked to acknowledge and be grateful for $2.57 billion in funding in the October budget for Victorian infrastructure from those on the other side who are professing to have superior IQs. The adage is that you should never look a gift horse in the mouth; but it is spring racing time, so we can at least do the form! This is remarkable, because the last budget delivered by the coalition allocated $3.3 billion to Victoria for road and rail projects to keep people and freight moving and to grow the economy. That's the difference: growing the economy. The investment took the coalition government's total commitment to transport infrastructure in Victoria to $35.5 billion since 2012-14. We can all do the maths—or most of us can do the maths—but there's a bigger underlying problem: $2.2 billion is being poured into Premier Daniel Andrews's pet project, the Suburban Rail Loop. The $125 billion price tag and the expected finish date of 2085 are staggering. Not only will this city-centric pipedream siphon off a disproportionate amount of infrastructure investment every year for decades to come but the Victorian Auditor-General has also found that the business case did not support informed investment decisions, and that for every dollar spent on the project the return is just 51c. Infrastructure Victoria's independent 30-year infrastructure strategy, released in 2016, did not include or signal a need for an orbital rail line in Melbourne, and yet here we are.

The Victorian Auditor-General also looked at the Melbourne Airport Rail project. This isn't a major project that came out of the blue, like the Suburban Rail Loop, or out of someone's head, but it has had numerous false dawns over many decades. The business case for this was also found to be undercooked, including on key questions like affordability and options assessment. This is important, because in its current form the $5 billion will build yet another expensive taxpayer funded monument to missed opportunity in Victoria. And we've been here before, with the Regional Rail Link, completed in 2015 under a federal-state partnership. It allows trains from Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo to bypass the congestion on the suburban rail network. The Seymour and Shepparton line, which services the electorate of Nicholls and other electorates of those opposite was not included in the link—a missed opportunity at the time. Equally, the Melbourne Airport Rail project will do nothing to advance the connectivity of northern Victoria. It could have, if the project were designed with the capacity for high-speed electrified trains from the regions, particularly from the north and the north-east. The first VLocity trains travelled to Shepparton just last week and, thanks to $320 million of investment by the coalition, when in federal government, the line will soon support nine return services a day and faster speeds of 130 kilometres per hour. That is, of course, until those trains hit the suburban rail system.

The improvements to rail services in my electorate are welcome and long overdue but, at a time when housing affordability and the cost of living are pressing issues, we should be leveraging major rail infrastructure projects to improve regional connectivity. The regions have the capacity to grow and absorb a greater proportion of our population. When spending public money, we should be trying to benefit the greatest number of people and we should not be missing opportunities. The future is high-speed rail, not just as a connector between capital cities in different states but to connect regional cities and capital cities within states. If we don't want Australia to become a nation of unaffordable megacities, we need to face up to the challenge of growing our regional cities.

The three projects I have mentioned total more than $133 billion. For that eye-watering amount, the design should include a dedicated conduit for electrified high-speed trains from regional centres to the north of Melbourne and through the north of Melbourne. Instead, I believe we are squandering billions on the Victorian government's Suburban Rail Loop—and there are other projects. The floods in Shepparton and Mooroopna closed the causeway linking the cities, and the coalition has set aside $208 million to progress the first stages of the Shepparton Bypass, a critical project which links the two cities of Shepparton and Mooroopna—especially when disasters like flood happen. The Andrews government has not committed to build it; it has played politics with it. The time for games is over and we need to build the Shepparton Bypass.

Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese Labor government is about building a better future. We are building a better future for all Australians, and that means building infrastructure that leaves a lasting and meaningful legacy for communities, particularly in high-growth areas like mine in the electorate of Corangamite, which includes the Surf Coast, the Bellarine Peninsula, the Golden Plains and parts of Greater Geelong. The first Albanese government budget takes an important first step in ensuring federal infrastructure spending is responsible, affordable and sustainable. We're delivering on our election commitments with a total investment of $55 billion in transport infrastructure across every state and territory.

Infrastructure development is a joint responsibility of all levels of government, a partnership in the national interest. In my own state of Victoria, the budget committed $2.57 billion, including $2.2 billion for the suburban rail loop, $57 million for the Ison Road rail overpass in Wyndham, $150 million for the Camerons Lane interchange in Beveridge and $125 million to upgrade Barwon Heads Road in my own electorate of Corangamite. I congratulate the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government for working so closely with the Daniel Andrews Victorian government to deliver funding on these much needed and significant projects.

The largest allocation for Victoria is for the visionary suburban rail loop. Despite the naysayers, this rail loop will be transformational for the state of Victoria, particularly for the way in which people move around Melbourne and its suburbs. This is what the suburban rail loop is all about, and it's good for the economy, jobs and construction. As with every infrastructure commitment under the Albanese government, the Melbourne Suburban Rail Loop will be subjected to due project assessment and scrutiny.

All of the other key infrastructure investments for Victoria in the budget are equally important in their own way and to their own communities. Take for example the stage 2 upgrade to Barwon Heads Road, which services the rapidly growing urban area of Armstrong Creek. I know well the need for this arterial link road. My electorate office is in the heart of Armstrong Creek, and the Armstrong Creek growth area is one of the largest urban growth areas in Victoria, consisting of 2,500 hectares. Ten years ago, Armstrong Creek was open farmland with cattle and sheep grazing. Now, Armstrong Creek is well on the way to providing housing for between 55,000 and 65,000, with approximately 22,000 residential homes. The old narrow two-way Barwon Heads Road could not possibly handle the huge volume of vehicles accessing this new growth area.

The first stage of the upgrade is well underway. The funding of $125 million in the October budget will contribute to the much needed second stage. Stage 1, when complete, will add new lanes for four kilometres between Settlement Road and Reserve Road, remove a dangerous level crossing at Marshall and upgrade the intersection at Settlement Road and Breakwater Road. Stage 2 will continue the duplication from Reserve Road through to Lower Duneed Road. Infrastructure Australia had some years ago evaluated the original business case for the upgrade and confirmed there was significant benefit in duplicating the road, with a total economic benefit of $569 million. Barwon Heads Road is a crucial link between Geelong, the growing Armstrong Creek residential precincts and towns, including Ocean Grove and Barwon Heads, on the Bellarine peninsula. This upgrade is so important to our region, and it will provide better connections to public transport and ensure that Barwon Heads Road can support the 44,000 daily journeys expected by 2031.

Building a better future is not just a political slogan. It has been Labor's aspiration for many decades. Think about projects like Andrew Fisher's transnational railway and Chifley's Snowy River scheme. Labor thinks long term and with vision. In years to come, people will look back at the Melbourne Suburban Rail Loop, the Barwon Heads Road upgrade, the overpass at Wyndham and the interchange at Beveridge and see these as essential and visionary. I congratulate the minister for leading with vision on nation-building infrastructure, and I thank the member for Lalor for this important motion.

Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ahead of the budget, my electorate of Indi was anxious about which hard-won infrastructure commitments might be lost to the government's infrastructure review. Yet, on budget night, I was relieved that months of advocacy to save our projects had paid off. I thank the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government for her commitment to meeting and listening carefully to the mayors and CEOs of the nine Indi LGAs when she was visiting Bright recently. She gave us close to two hours of her family holiday time and heard firsthand of the challenges we face.

The $80 million promised to the Albury-Wodonga Regional Deal has remained in this budget. Had this been axed, it would have been a huge blow to locals who have worked in good faith on the regional deal for years. With funding confirmed, we can start scoping out projects in health, housing and more. Also saved was $9.8 million for road upgrades in Mansfield under the Remote Roads Upgrade Pilot Program. This will deliver considerable upgrades to Highton Lane, Rifle Butts Road and the Boorolite-Chapel Hill Road to improve their safety. Our community will also keep $900,000 for the Biggara Recreation Reserve for the completion of the master plan—a huge relief for this little community that's been through so much.

But, given the massive rain events across the eastern seaboard, it was hard not to be concerned by the lack new roads funding. Not the blockbuster announcements the member for Lalor refers to in her motion; I mean the meat-and-potatoes highways, byways and backroads that are the lifeblood of regional Australia. In Indi, like electorates across Australia, our roads are disintegrating before our eyes. Floods and rain are eroding the road surface, and the potholes—by golly, the potholes! Whether you're commuting or doing the school pick-up, everyone knows a pothole—or a dozen!—that fills them with dread. One man told me, 'Driving on the Melba Highway is a life-and-death journey, especially after dark and after rain.' There was reportedly a pothole as big as a bath on the Murray Valley Highway. Worse still were the potholes on the Hume Highway near Seymour, which blew tyres by the dozen. For my constituents travelling to Melbourne on the Hume for specialist medical treatment, this was the last thing they needed.

This budget did include funding for the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program to continue out to 2025-26. Again, I thank the minister for this commitment, but I'm hearing from local councils—flat out filling potholes—that they have no hope of fixing roads without a serious injection of funds from state and federal governments. Our road infrastructure needs review, and I'm pleased to be part of the Standing Committee on Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport, where we plan to undertake such an inquiry.

The local councils responsible for building and maintaining road infrastructure are doing more with less. In Indi, our nine LGAs provide essential services with small rate bases and challenging geography. Because of this, they rely heavily on the Commonwealth's financial assistance grants. These untied grants allow councils to spend funds where it's most needed: on road maintenance; maintaining community assets like sporting grounds, libraries or pools; or new enabling infrastructure. These grants make up 42 per cent of the operating revenue for rural agricultural councils, according to the Australian Local Government Association. Yet, over the last three decades, grant payments have declined from one per cent of Commonwealth taxation revenue to around 0.53 per cent. At the same time, the demands on these councils have only increased. The number one ask from Indi's local governments, year in, year out, is to increase financial assistance grants. I took this request to the last government, and I was told that pigs flying was a likelier outcome.

Fast-forward six months, and I look across the chamber to a new government who committed in its national platform to focus on the long-term financial sustainability of local government, including fair increases to financial assistance grants. What is a fair increase? I would say that we start by restoring the grants to one per cent of federal tax revenue. This is the infrastructure funding that regions really need. I've been pleased to meet with the Assistant Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, herself a former mayor from a regional community, to make this case. I truly hope that she can do better than the previous government on this issue. I'll be keeping the pressure up. I will continue with this, so that the infrastructure our local regional communes need is there for them to thrive.

Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lalor for putting forward this motion. As a fellow Victorian MP, it is with great pleasure that I stand here to acknowledge and celebrate the fact that, for the first time in a decade, we have a federal government that delivers Victoria its fair share and the infrastructure that our communities need. It wasn't too long ago that we had a Treasurer who, despite being from Victoria, was not for Victoria. As the motion says, what we saw from the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government was a decade of neglect when it comes to Victoria. The previous Prime Minister was called the PM for Sydney—a well deserved moniker. Not only did Victoria miss out on infrastructure funding in budget after budget but we were also left out as New South Wales got much more vaccine stock than they needed, leaving Victoria and other states short—a record of being left behind. And who can forget the rorts? Pork-barrelling as far as the eye could see, the coloured spreadsheets, the commuter car parks—finally, after a decade, it's at an end.

The previous federal government's lack of support for Victoria was contrasted with the substantial and ongoing commitment of the Victorian government to communities right across the state, particularly in delivering important infrastructure projects. The Victorian government, with a lack of support from Canberra, went out and did it alone. As much as having a partner in Canberra to work with together on projects over the past decade would have helped our state, the Victorian government got on with the job anyway. Over eight years, we have seen so many great projects that I know have made a great difference to the lives of Victorians, including in Jagajaga.

Every day, I drive through Rosanna and under the rail bridge that used to be a level crossing. It's possible to forget that just a couple years ago things were very different there. There was a level crossing, and people spent a lot of time sitting at those boom gates at Lower Plenty Road where now they just drive on through. Projects like the removal of the Rosanna level crossing and the building of the new train station there have made a really big change to our community. They have created a welcoming connection on either side of the railway line; there's an excellent social enterprise cafe at the railway station there; and, as I said, time is saved from sitting at the level crossing. I'm so pleased and excited to see that the Andrews government has recently announced that the removal of the level crossing at Rutland Street in Macleod will be the next project, and that will happen over the next couple of years. As we've seen in Rosanna, I'm sure the Macleod project will deliver a great outcome for the community there—not least by resolving what is another traffic pitch point and making that a space that works for the whole community.

This is the real, tangible difference that Labor governments make. We've seen it at a state level and, now that we have a Labor government here in Canberra to partner with the states and territories, we see it at a federal level. We see how we can maximise the opportunities that exist for us to deliver the important community infrastructure we all need.

On the topic of rail, I'm very pleased to note the contribution of $2.2 billion from the Albanese government to the Suburban Rail Loop project. This is a really big project, but Melbourne is a big city—one that is only going to keep getting bigger. The Suburban Rail Loop will help meet the needs of Melbournians, connecting rail lines and eventually linking up to the airport line. I am sure this experience is replicated across Melbourne, but in communities like mine, people in the suburbs are looking for those connections. They are looking for the infrastructure work that makes their lives easier and makes it easier for them to get around. At the moment, Melbourne has a train system that's very much focused on getting in and out of the city. What the Suburban Rail Loop will get us is the potential to get around the city. While the initial phase of the project is focused on the east of Melbourne, I know there is very keen interest in my community in the north-east for future plans to build new stations at Doncaster, Heidelberg, Bundoora and beyond.

People in my community are looking for governments with vision, who get things done and who make a difference in their lives. We've got that in Victoria with the Andrews Labor government, and now we have that for Australia with the Albanese Labor government. Our government's first budget is just the beginning. There is still a lot of work to do to make sure we are investing in Victoria, in my community and in all Victorian communities. But I know that, in collaboration with the Victorian government, our government will get this work done.

Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Labor Party wants to tell us all that their budget funding will make journeys quicker and ensure that Australians return home to their families safely. Which part of cutting previously promised road projects in my electorate of Casey is achieving this? Which part of declining to improve road safety in bushfire-prone areas ensures that Australians return home to their families safely? Like always, the Labor Party is saying one thing and doing another.

Bipartisan agreement was reached in 2019 to upgrade Wellington Road. The Labor Party and the previous coalition government had committed to this important project that would see the duplication of the key bushfire escape route for those in towns in the Dandenong Ranges. But, no, the Labor Party have gone back on their word, with the local CFA labelling Labor's decision to cancel the project as 'really distressing news for our community'. The local council wants it, stakeholders want it, the CFA wants it and the coalition wants it—even the Labor Party wanted it—but it was cut anyway. The Labor Party felt that there were more important things to try and achieve over the safety of Casey's constituents. Instead, in the Treasurer 's budget last month, he committed $2.2 billion to Victoria's Suburban Rail Loop without submitting the funding to an independent assessment by Infrastructure Australia. Many opposite have spoken about this project, but they failed to mention that it hasn't gone through Infrastructure Australia. It's quite puzzling, because I recall that in March now Prime Minister Albanese said in his budget reply speech:

Labor will make sure that those investments really stack up, using the Infrastructure Australia model that I established …

Like always, like his $275 power bill promise, this is another example of the Prime Minister saying one thing to get elected and another when in government.

This project, according to Victoria's Parliamentary Budget Office, is expected to blow out to more than $125 billion before its completion in 2085, and we now hear that it's going to the north as well. Even the Auditor-General has criticised the lack of detail in this proposal. Ripping up plans for investments in roads, rail, bridges, dams and community infrastructure facilities is not how we build a more prosperous, stronger and sustainable Australia. Investments in infrastructure are a key plank in growing the Australian economy, but this budget has no plan to grow our national economy. The Albanese government's first budget has distracted the majority of its so-called savings by axing or deferring infrastructure projects across the nation, including the Wellington Road duplication. It is easy to save if you get nothing done, and this is what the Albanese government is trying to tell us—that by cutting vital road and rail projects that would get Australians home to their families sooner and safer the economy is suddenly better off.

In 2019, vital infrastructure projects in Casey were funded by the federal coalition government, including the Canterbury Road duplication and the Killara Road and Station Street intersection upgrade. These investments are needed in our communities and, three years later, Casey residents are still waiting for the state government to get on with the job and start these projects. These projects are now at risk of not being delivered by the Andrews Labor government. These projects and upgrades are not just a matter of convenience but a matter of safety. Labor's decision is more evidence that they don't care as much about Victorians in local communities as they say they do. So I will keep fighting for upgrades for Casey, even as the federal and state Labor governments avoid collaboration on these projects. I'm saddened that the Labor Party's failings are being felt by my constituents already in this manner. I am saddened that a bipartisanship agreement has been rescinded. It's another example of this Labor government and this Prime Minister playing politics with our community. Once again, they say one thing to get elected, whether it's the promise of $275 power bills, a commitment to the Wellington Road duplication or the commitment to getting real wages growing when this budget has shown they're not; this government says one thing in opposition and breaks its word in government. It's a disgrace and it lets down all Australians.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next day of sitting.