Thursday, 20 March 2025

West Gate Tunnel

Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:26): My question is to the Premier. Labor’s West Gate Tunnel is set to blow out by another $1 billion. The corrupt CFMEU has been fined $168,000 for thuggish bullying and abusive behaviour on this project. How much of the total blowout on this project has been caused by corrupt union activity?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:26): The Leader of the Opposition got one part of his question correct and the rest of it incorrect. The part that was correct was of course that Labor is getting on and delivering the West Gate Tunnel Project in partnership with its construction partners. The bit that the Leader of the Opposition got wrong, though, was the claim he made about the cost of this project, because the advice I have – how could I not be any more relevant? I quoted his question.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is required to be factual. The CFMEU was fined for bullying public servants, WorkSafe inspectors and police, so I would ask you to ask the Premier to be factual.

The SPEAKER: The Premier was answering the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: The West Gate Tunnel Project is on track to be delivered, consistent –

Matthew Guy interjected.

Jacinta ALLAN: The former Leader of the Opposition is muttering away over there. He remembers those years when he opposed the project, he blocked the project, he fought against the project. Well, guess what, the project is being delivered, and it is going to make a difference. It is going to get trucks off local roads. It is going to provide the member for Bulleen and others –

Matthew Guy interjected.

The SPEAKER: Member for Bulleen, I ask you to stand and apologise to the house.

Matthew Guy: I apologise to the house.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the question was very narrow about the blowout of costs on this project going to corrupt union activity. Could you ask the Premier to be relevant to the question.

The SPEAKER: I have the question in front of me. The Premier was being relevant to the question that was asked.

Jacinta ALLAN: This is a project that is going to bring benefits. It is also going to provide an alternative to the West Gate Bridge, and we all know about when something happens and there is an incident on the West Gate Bridge. Indeed I remember well there was a day – perhaps it was when the member for Bulleen was the Leader of the Opposition – when there was a serious accident on the top of the West Gate Freeway that had a massive knock-on effect across the road network. Do you know what was happening in the Parliament at that time? The Liberal Party was opposing the project, trying to block the project in the Legislative Council on the very same day.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker – we also know it was the CFMEU who were blockading the West Gate during the lockdowns, but anyway – the Premier is debating the question.

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

Jacinta ALLAN: That is why this is such a vitally important project. The project is being delivered consistent with the agreement that was reached with Transurban and its subcontractors in 2021.

Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:30): Will the Premier commission a comprehensive audit into how much money spent on the West Gate Tunnel Project has been fleeced from taxpayers by bikies and organised crime, or will the Premier continue to preside over endless cost blowouts?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:30): I will repeat comments I have made previously to the Leader of the Opposition. If the Leader of the Opposition has any allegations to make of the sorts of behaviour that he is referring to, I would suggest he makes them to Victoria Police. Secondly, in terms of the investments that are made in our infrastructure program, those investments are accounted for in the budget papers. They are updated annually and half-annually, and that information is provided through the budget papers.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, not only is it factually incorrect that this government puts everything in its budget papers, but on relevance, Speaker, it was about whether the Premier will introduce an audit on the expenditure for this particular project.

The SPEAKER: The Premier was being relevant to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: As I was saying, the investments that we make are accounted for in the budget. I know previously those opposite have referred to audits. We all know that is code for cuts – cuts to projects and cuts to those thousands of jobs and those families that rely on those pay packets coming home every single week.