Thursday, 8 February 2024

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Suburban Rail Loop

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:03): My question is to the Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop. The Grattan Institute has today said that the government must ‘bite the bullet’ and cancel the Suburban Rail Loop in order to free up construction workers to address Victoria’s housing crisis. Why is the Labor government making the housing crisis worse by insisting on building the SRL against expert advice?

Danny PEARSON (Essendon – Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Assistant Treasurer, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC) (14:03): We have got the Leader of the Opposition, representing a party that never started nor completed a major project when they were in office, quoting so-called experts –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister is debating the question.

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

Danny PEARSON: The Grattan Institute have not built anything; they are not experts when it comes to these matters. The other point I would make is that in the past, too, we had other so-called experts, for example, rail against the construction of the city loop. And the reality is that if we had not built the city loop then we would have basically trains terminating at Flinders Street and Spencer Street. That would just not be fit for purpose for a city the size of Melbourne in 2024, let alone when we gaze forward to the 2050s, when Melbourne will have the population of London. Those big global megacities need an orbital route. You do not have just one standard CBD, you do not have a hub-and-spoke approach, you need to have –

Matthew Guy interjected.

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

Member for Bulleen withdrew from chamber.

Danny PEARSON: It is not a binary equation. It is not a case of you have major transport infrastructure or you have housing. You have both. You have got to do both. And on this side of the house we know that you can do both, because that is what we have spent the last 10 years doing – investing in the critical infrastructure that Victorians have voted for, be it schools, be it hospitals, be it major transport linkages, be it making sure that we have got housing to deal with the increase in the population that we are seeing.

Those opposite have consistently opposed this project, and you have got to ask yourself: why are they being such economic vandals when it comes to a project like this? You are going to have 4000 jobs on the ground in 2026, and if the Leader of the Opposition becomes the Premier then he will sack 4000 ‍jobs. You are looking at the broader economic benefit. You are looking at in excess of $58 billion worth of economic benefit to Victoria as a consequence of this project. It is about making sure that we have got more housing around transport nodes. It is making sure that people have got the ability if they live down at Frankston, for example, to get on the train and go to Monash University, which is Australia’s largest university. This is a bold, visionary project, it is a project that this state needs and it is a project that will be delivered by the Allan Labor government.

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:06): Is Suburban Rail Loop East fully funded?

Danny PEARSON (Essendon – Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Assistant Treasurer, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC) (14:06): We have been really clear that this project will be between $30 billion and $34 billion between now and 2035. I appreciate the Leader of the Opposition probably has not spent much time reading budget estimates or budget papers, but the forward estimates go for four years.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the question was very simple, and I would ask you to bring the minister back to the question.

The SPEAKER: The minister was referring to budget figures. He was being relevant.

Danny PEARSON: We are getting on with the job of delivering this project. All contracts will be let by 2026.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the question was about whether the project is funded.

Mary-Anne Thomas: On the point of order, Speaker, the minister was being entirely relevant to the question. I ask that you direct the Leader of the Opposition not to use points of order to stop ministers on their feet from delivering responsive answers.

James Newbury: Further to the point of order, Speaker, Rulings from the Chair is very, very clear that ministers cannot generally respond to a question; they must respond to it directly. The question was whether the project was fully funded, and the minister has not yet dealt with that matter.

The SPEAKER: I would ask members who are raising points of order not to repeat the question. The question was very straightforward. The minister, however, was referring to the budget and how it was going to be funded.

Danny PEARSON: We have been really clear. The funding streams will be through the Commonwealth, through the state and through value capture. We are well on the way to having 4000 ‍jobs on the ground in 2026. All contracts will be let, and we will have TBMs on the ground. Those opposite want to fill in a hole.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, we asked deliberately a very simple question. I am trying to give the minister a chance to answer. We want to know whether it is fully funded, not the streams. Is it funded? It is a simple question. I ask you to draw the minister back.

The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, I would ask you not to repeat the question in your point of order. I understand your point of order, and I understand your need to have the answer that you want. I cannot compel the minister to answer the question the way you want. The minister was being relevant. He was referring to the budget papers.

Danny PEARSON: As I was saying, we are looking at three funding streams: the Commonwealth, value capture and contributions from the state. All major contracts will be let by 2026. We are going to have tunnel-boring machines in the ground. This is going to be an exciting project. Those opposite have clearly decided that they want to oppose this. They want to fill in a hole – board it up. They are just economic vandals.