Wednesday, 15 May 2024

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Suburban Rail Loop

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:03): My question is to the Premier. Last night the federal budget confirmed the Suburban Rail Loop has no further Commonwealth funding. Will the state government now fund the balance for the Suburban Rail Loop East?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:04): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the opportunity to once again talk about the Suburban Rail Loop, how Victorians have voted for this project not once but twice, how we have a partner in Canberra who has provided $2.2 billion for the funding and how we are getting on and delivering this project. In answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question and talking about the Suburban Rail Loop, he does of course reference last night’s federal budget, and wasn’t it great in last night’s federal budget to see a federal government that knows where Victoria is on the map and that recognises that Victorians are federal taxpayers as well and that we have –

Members interjecting.

Jacinta ALLAN: You asked about the federal budget, Leader of the Opposition.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, it has been nearly a minute. I have allowed the Premier a good deal of time. It is a very simple question. Can I ask that you draw the Premier back to the question.

Mary-Anne Thomas: On the point of order, Speaker, there is no point of order. The Premier was being directly responsive to the question that was put to her. She was talking about the Suburban Rail Loop, she was talking about the federal government and she was talking about the fact that we now have a partner in Canberra that knows where Victoria is.

The SPEAKER: I will rule on the point of order. I ask the Premier to come back to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: As I said, it was great to see that we have received support. The minister for freight would be keen for me to remind the house of that investment for the Maroona freight line. That was another great example – a project we had been advocating for year after year – to see a federal Labor government make this investment.

When it comes to the Suburban Rail Loop, it is very interesting. It is always interesting to get a question from the opposition on the Suburban Rail Loop, because this is of course a project that they oppose. They have opposed it for years. They have opposed it in the face of the fact that Victorians have voted for this twice.

Members interjecting.

Jacinta ALLAN: I am very pleased to get an interjection about the business case, because in August 2021 we released a comprehensive business and investment case that demonstrates that this project more than stacks up. And it was in fact –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, may I refer you to Speaker Maddigan’s ruling of 2003, which was:

When responding to a question a minister must address the question rather than responding generally.

I put to you that the Premier has a pattern of behaviour of responding generally rather than responding specifically to the question. The question related to funding of the project; that was the question. It was not about anything else. It was not about a general response. I put to you, Speaker, that the Premier is responding generally rather than to the specific question.

The SPEAKER: The Manager of Opposition Business knows that I cannot direct a minister or the Premier how to respond to a question. The Premier was being relevant to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: We have released that business and investment case, which shows that it is going to take hundreds of thousands of cars off local roads and will provide for a 22-minute journey between Cheltenham and Box Hill. There are so many benefits that this project would bring, including delivering a train line to the largest university in the country that is currently not served by a train line.

When it came to last night’s federal budget, as I said, we have received support for a range of projects. In terms of the Suburban Rail Loop, the Suburban Rail Loop has already received $2.2 billion in funding from the federal government, and we will continue to work with the federal government on this project. I note that the federal Treasurer has made some comments today about the Suburban Rail Loop. He said he wanted to ensure he was supporting projects that had value for money. When it comes to value for money, this is a project, as our business and investment case shows, that absolutely stacks up. It absolutely stacks up. We were at the Metro Tunnel this morning – a project that those opposite opposed again and again. The Suburban Rail Loop is another project that will be delivered only by Labor governments.

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:09): The minister has previously said that funding for this –

Members interjecting.

John PESUTTO: The minister for infrastructure projects, transport –

Members interjecting.

John PESUTTO: Minister Pearson has previously said that funding for the Suburban Rail Loop East will come from three sources: ‘the Commonwealth, value capture and contributions from the state’. How much will Victorians now have to pay for the Suburban Rail Loop East?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:10): I am pleased to see that the Leader of the Opposition has been listening to what Minister Pearson and I have been saying for a number of years, and I would also point the Leader of the Opposition to page 187 of BP4. The Leader of the Opposition asked about the cost of the Suburban Rail Loop East, and budget paper 4 on page 187, as it has in previous editions, states that it is expected to cost between $30 billion and $34.5 billion. I can hand him my highlighted version if he likes. The budget has been out for a week, and it takes question time for me to help the Leader of the Opposition to read the budget papers on how much the Suburban Rail Loop is expected to cost.

The SPEAKER: I remind members about the use of props, even though it is a document and it is the budget paper.