Tuesday, 1 April 2025

Suburban Rail Loop

Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:21): My question is to the Premier. How many new taxes, levies, charges and contributions will the government slug Victorians to pay for the Suburban Rail Loop?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:21): Again I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the opportunity to talk about a project our city and state need and to talk about how, under Labor governments, this is a project that needs to be delivered. It needs to be delivered because it is about delivering those transport connections whilst at the same time undertaking the planning work so that we can have the jobs, the homes and the opportunities around these transport precincts.

Brad Battin: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the question was very simple about how this is going to be funded using new taxes and levies here in this state, and the Premier has not gone anywhere near how many new taxes Victorians are going to be slugged.

The SPEAKER: I cannot tell the Premier how to answer a question, but I do remind the Premier that it was a narrow question.

Jacinta ALLAN: Indeed I was coming to the question. Clearly the Leader of the Opposition is not across the details. That is pretty clear to all of us. He is not across the detail. He has got to get his directions from Queensland. On the blower from Queensland: ‘Hi Peter’; ‘Hi Brad’. The point of talking about the precincts around the Suburban Rail Loop is that they will be places where value will be created.

Bridget Vallence: Speaker, I renew the point of order on relevance. It is very narrow, as you said, Speaker. It is about how many taxes Victorians will be slugged as a result of this pet project.

The SPEAKER: I am aware of the question, Manager of Opposition Business. I cannot direct the Premier how to answer the question. I remind the Premier again of the narrowness of the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: I appreciate the indulgence of the house to be able to explain to the Leader of the Opposition how value capture works. This is not new for Victoria; the city loop had a similar approach. Can you imagine Melbourne today without the city loop? Just imagine that for a moment. Imagine how the city would have ground to a halt, those opportunities that would not have been opened up around Southbank and other parts of the city. It is like imagining the city without the Metro Tunnel. That is the nightmare that the Liberals, state and federal, had for Victoria. That is their nightmare scenario that they had for Victoria.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is debating the question. I ask her to answer the question: how many taxes will Victorians be slugged?

Members interjecting.

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

Member for Frankston withdrew from chamber.

Mary-Anne Thomas: On the point of order, Speaker, we have seen repeatedly the Manager of Opposition Business use points of order as an opportunity to re-ask the question, which is completely out of order, and I ask that you rule her out of order and counsel her against doing it.

Sam Groth: Speaker, on the point of order, standing order 58 does require the Premier to be direct when answering the question, and at 1 minute and 45 seconds into the answer she has not gone anywhere near the question.

The SPEAKER: I remind the Premier that it is a narrow question. Come back to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: I am delighted now to also include the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in explaining how value capture works. As we have seen, whether it is projects like the city loop or whether it is projects like those in Sydney – those projects in Sydney that under a Liberal government received funding while Victoria’s Metro Tunnel received nothing – we know that these are precincts where value is captured and where there is opportunity because you are creating jobs, you are creating employment and you are creating value. The value capture mechanisms advocated by former Liberal prime ministers, advocated in other states and advocated on previous projects here in Victoria, are mechanisms where it is only fair that those that get value from a project also make a contribution back to the project. This was spelt out in the business case that was released in August 2021, a business case that was sent to Infrastructure Australia –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for South-West Coast can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for South-West Coast withdrew from chamber.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, you have reminded the Premier three times about how narrow this question is, yet she still defies that ruling. I would ask you to ask her to come back to that question, the very narrow question of how many new taxes Victorians will be slugged.

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

Jacinta ALLAN: As I was saying, when we are bringing world-class public transport, like that which they walked away from with the Metro Tunnel, it is only fair that there is an opportunity to capture some of that value and to return that investment back into the project, all of which was spelt out in the business case in 2021.

Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:26): Infrastructure Australia’s evaluation of the Suburban Rail Loop states:

… any value capture revenues required after the project’s delivery may need to substantially exceed $11.5 billion in nominal terms to offset the upfront cost in real terms.

Serious questions have also been raised by the Australian National Audit Office, the Victorian Auditor-General, the Victorian Ombudsman and even the federal Labor government. Why is the Premier proceeding with her pet project despite having failed to explain how it will be funded?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:27): I understand that the Leader of the Opposition struggles with detail and struggles with the ability to understand when you have a federal government investing in projects in Victoria, because when the Liberal government were in power in Canberra, Victorians continued to be dudded. This is a project that the federal Treasurer has said they believe in. This is a project that the Prime Minister, as recently as today, has supported.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is required to be factual, and she has failed to say the federal budget has no more funding for this project. I would ask you to ask the Premier to be factual and to respond to the question.

The SPEAKER: There is a requirement for all members to be factual.

Jacinta ALLAN: I appreciate that those opposite are embarrassed that their federal leader had to announce their policies via a press release. I know they are a little embarrassed. What else? What other secret announcements is Peter Dutton going to announce over the next few weeks that the Leader of the Opposition has not even told his party room about? I say this: in federal Labor Victoria has a partner – in the Suburban Rail Loop, in the airport rail project and in the North East Link Program, and we will continue to work with them.