Tuesday, 17 October 2023

Ministers statements: Suburban Rail Loop

Danny PEARSON (Essendon – Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Assistant Treasurer, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC) (14:43): I rise to update the house on the magnificent program the Allan Labor government is making in delivering the Suburban Rail Loop. SRL will not only take more than 600,000 cars off our roads every day, make some of our most important universities and TAFEs accessible and connect every major rail line, it will also fundamentally reshape the way our city grows by delivering more high-quality affordable housing choices closer to jobs, schools and services. It is a massive task, and we are well and truly getting on with it.

As the member for Box Hill knows, works are cracking on in relation to relocating the 109 tram terminus on Whitehorse Road so that we can keep trams running during construction of the new Box Hill SRL station. Crews are working around the clock to lay new track, complete the new platform and install new lighting. The member for Ashwood has been out recently inspecting the site establishment works at Sinnott Street Reserve in Burwood. Tunnel access shaft works are underway and will continue until late 2025. A critical aspect of this city-shaping project is its role in reshaping the way our city grows. The neighbourhoods around the new SRL East stations will be magnets for activity and investment, attracting more people, businesses and jobs closer to home, along with new and diverse housing options.

In August we released a discussion paper to kickstart the conversation about how these communities can accommodate growth. Since then we have been running community forums, pop-up sessions and listening posts. The SRL Authority has been at Box Hill Central, at the Glen, at DFO Moorabbin and at the Burwood Brickworks talking to people about their aspirations for their communities. Later this year we will reflect all that community feedback in the precinct vision statements to continue the discussion.

The SRL will deliver thousands of new homes in well-serviced communities close to jobs and a world-class public transport system – and every one of those homes, every one of those jobs and every metre of that track have been opposed by the do-nothing rabble opposite. The SRL is a long-term project that requires vision and ambition, which can be hard to understand when your only vision is to get through your next party room meeting.