Tuesday, 15 October 2024

Suburban Rail Loop

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:20): My question is to the Premier. The government needs to acquire at least 314 properties to make way for Suburban Rail Loop East alone. During the middle of a housing crisis, how much is the Allan Labor government paying to acquire and demolish residential homes?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:20): This information around the acquisition of property to deliver Suburban Rail Loop East was disclosed as part of the independent environment effects statement process. That process was concluded in early 2022, and the details were made available publicly following that process, if my memory serves me correctly, from early 2022. So it has been known for some time that there would need to be a small number of acquisitions of property ‍– some residential, some commercial – along the alignment. That is not unusual, and if the Leader of the Opposition had ever delivered a project, he would know that from time to time there is the need to acquire sometimes vacant land, residential land or commercial land to build vitally important projects. We have had to do this from time to time on level crossings, on the Metro Tunnel and on the North East Link project. Particularly in the instance of the Suburban Rail Loop this was disclosed through the environment effects statement process. I acknowledge the Leader of the Opposition has been a bit distracted lately, but this is information that has been publicly available for some time.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the fact of compulsory acquisition has been well known. My question was about the costs of compulsory acquisition.

Mary-Anne Thomas: On the point of order, Speaker, there is no point of order. The Premier was being directly relevant to the question, which was about the SRL and acquiring homes to build that state-shaping project, and she is being directly relevant. I ask that you rule the point of order out of order.

The SPEAKER: I do not uphold the point of order. The Premier was being relevant to the question that was asked. I cannot direct the Premier how to answer the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: Also, further to this, since the release of the environment effects statement process in early 2022, as required by the land acquisition act that governs these processes, we have been working on a case-by-case basis with each landowner, and those processes, out of respect for those landowners, are obviously confidential. But the overall cost of the land acquisition, whether it be homes or vacant land or commercial properties, is all factored into the overall budget for the delivery of any given project. In this instance, it is factored into the budget for the delivery of the Suburban Rail Loop project.

Further to that, of course the delivery of the Suburban Rail Loop project gives us the opportunity to build 70,000 more homes in and around each of the six Suburban Rail Loop East train stations. And that is all about the work we are doing to give more opportunities to more Victorians to be able to access a home close to where they want to live, close to family – exactly in those locations, like in the middle of Camberwell, where you are close to a train station, to schools, to local shops and to other connections. That is what the Suburban Rail Loop East’s six train stations will provide: the opportunity to put more homes around those train stations, which is exactly where Victorians have told us we should be building more homes, because it also gives more opportunities to more Victorians, particularly young Victorians, to be able to access a home where they want to live.

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:24): Has the Premier had a discussion with the member for Box Hill about the 108 homes being demolished in his electorate?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:24): Yes, and I did so when I was the Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop. I know the Leader of the Opposition does not talk much to his colleagues – I know they do not get along – but of course I have spoken to the member for Box Hill.

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

The SPEAKER: There is no point of order.

Jacinta ALLAN: I will repeat for the Manager of Opposition Business, who spends more time dreaming than listening: the answer is yes, of course I have spoken to the member for Box Hill. He is an outstanding member for Box Hill who works incredibly hard. I was delighted to join the member for Box Hill just last week with members of the Whitehorse Asian business association, and guess what we spoke about: the Suburban Rail Loop and the opportunities that are going to come to the Box Hill community in terms of retail opportunities, commercial opportunities and the opportunity to build more homes close to a train station. I know it is a foreign concept to talk to your colleagues. I do it all the time; maybe the Leader of the Opposition should take that approach as well.