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

My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure. Can the minister explain why Labor are providing $2.2 billion for the Melbourne Suburban Rail Loop before the Victorian state election, which ignores their own policy by proceeding without an Infrastructure Australia assessment and, at the same time, they are cancelling the $110 million Wellington Road duplication project in south-east Melbourne, which they promised in 2019?

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member very much for his question. I will take a minute to talk a little bit about Wellington Road, but first let me talk about the importance of the Suburban Rail Loop. This is a once-in-a-generation infrastructure investment in Victoria. This is not just about the suburbs, but also, for the member for Gippsland, it will substantially improve the capacity of people who live in Gippsland to go to things like Monash University, to attend the Monash Children's Hospital and actually make sure they can get to those important appointments.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting.

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know the Suburban Rail Loop will transform our suburbs and that regional Victorians will benefit from that as well. The detailed business and investment case for the Suburban Rail Loop, released by Victoria last year, demonstrated a benefit-cost ratio of 1.7, meaning that $1.70 would be returned for every dollar invested. The member seems to not understand that, under the National Land Transport Act, the project is also subject to rigorous assessment processes between the Commonwealth and Victoria. That is what is required when we have those national partnership agreements.

The member asked me about projects being funded without infrastructure investment. I know the member wasn't here at the time, but I do remind the member of the $5 billion that was committed to the Melbourne Airport rail loop without the previous government actually speaking to the Victorian Premier first, and the $1.6 billion commitment for the Brisbane to Sunshine Coast rail that the Queensland government described as 'a bit of a surprise', saying the money appeared 'plucked from the sky'.

Again, the member's question provides me with the opportunity to remind the House just what an absolute mess the previous government made of the infrastructure investment pipeline, which we are having to clean up. In relation to the Wellington Road project that the member referred to, the previous government said they would fund 100 per cent of it. They said they would fund the duplication of Wellington Road 100 per cent. The only problem was they only put $110 million into what is an approximately $620 million project. That is the problem. It says everything about the previous government that the member does not understand what it actually takes to invest in and deliver a project. As I've said previously, you can't drive on a press release.