Tuesday, 14 November 2023

Suburban Rail Loop

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:30): My question is to the Premier. Is any part of the Victorian government investigating or considering pausing or cancelling the Suburban Rail Loop?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:31): Just as recently as this morning I was with the planning minister and a member for Northern Metropolitan Region in another place in Brunswick, where I reaffirmed our government’s very strong commitment to a project that Victorians have voted twice for, and we are determined to deliver this project for a number of reasons.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Eildon can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Eildon withdrew from chamber.

Jacinta ALLAN: I am delighted to share those reasons with the Leader of the Opposition, because this is a project that Victoria simply cannot not build. The reason for this is, as our city over the decades ahead continues to grow, we know that we need to invest in the transport infrastructure our city and state need. We know at every turn over the past nine years we have been blocked and stopped – tried to be blocked and stopped – by the Liberal Party. They tried to take us to the Supreme Court on level crossings, on the Metro Tunnel. We know time and again they have opposed each and every one of our major transport infrastructure –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, question time is not an opportunity to attack the opposition. I would ask you to bring the Premier back to the question.

The SPEAKER: I ask the Premier to come back to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: The reason why I was referring to those previous projects is of course the Liberal Party is continuing that tradition of the Liberal Party and opposing the Suburban Rail Loop.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Frankston can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Frankston withdrew from chamber.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, just on relevance, I cannot quite understand why the Premier just cannot say no to this question. It is quite a simple –

The SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order.

Jacinta ALLAN: The reason why is I want to make sure every single one of the 3 minutes I have available is spent on reminding the Leader of the Opposition why this project is so important for the state of Victoria, and I would be delighted if the Leader of the Opposition moved for an extension of time so I can continue beyond the 3 minutes to provide information to him on why this project is important. This project is important for a number of reasons, and I will not have time to go through them all. But let us consider this. Monash University is the country’s largest tertiary institution. It is also surrounded by a significant research and health and medical and manufacturing precinct. It is currently not connected to our heavy rail network. With the Suburban Rail Loop it will be. What that means for the tens of thousands of people who move in and out of that area every single day – whether for work, whether for research or whether to be able to further the career of their dreams by starting at university – is they will be able to get there more easily, thanks to the –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, this question asks whether any part of the government was investigating or considering pausing or cancelling the Suburban Rail Loop – any part of government.

The SPEAKER: The Manager of Opposition Business knows that a point of order is not an opportunity to repeat the question. I do not know how many times I have to repeat that. The Premier will continue. There was no point of order.

Jacinta ALLAN: Of course the work is going on right now on the Suburban Rail Loop East Cheltenham to Box Hill section, a 26-kilometre journey that in the future will take 22 minutes on the train – again, opening up opportunities for jobs, for services and for access to schools and hospitals.

This is one of many reasons why we are getting on with delivering the Suburban Rail Loop, because this is a project that we need to get on and deliver for the hundreds of jobs that are being supported now, the thousands that will be supported in the future with construction and, most importantly, to help more Victorians get to where they need to go by public transport.

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:35): Has the Premier, any minister or any ministerial office been involved in discussions or received any advice or briefing about the possibility of pausing or cancelling the Suburban Rail Loop?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:36): Well, if the Leader of the Opposition was in any doubt after my answer to his substantive question, I am delighted to expand on it in answering the supplementary question. We are getting on and delivering the Suburban Rail Loop. The Leader of the Opposition might be relying on information from Professor Plum in the library with a candlestick, but we are getting on and delivering the Suburban Rail Loop.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, this was a very clear question. I would ask you to bring the Premier back to that question.

The SPEAKER: The Premier has concluded her answer.