Wednesday, 17 August 2022

Statements on reports, papers and petitions

Department of Treasury and Finance

Budget papers 2022–23

Mr DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan—Leader of the Opposition) (17:18): Today I want to talk about the transport infrastructure section of the state budget. The current government has devoted a lot of activity to transport infrastructure, building a range of new projects, but one thing that is in common with every project is a huge cost blowout. Whether it be the Metro Tunnel, almost $4 billion over budget; the West Gate Tunnel, well over $5 billion over budget as we speak, and growing; or whether it be the many smaller projects or even level crossings—where the state government has never released the final cost of the completed level crossing removals individually or even in sets—this government cannot manage money. It cannot manage major projects. We heard the other day from the FOI that the North East Link project had blown out to $18 billion, more than doubling earlier estimates—a huge blowout, and additionally with the state government through the Treasurer providing a Treasurer’s indemnity to the Spark consortium. There is more than $30 billion now in cost blowouts under this government, with debt rising and rising very seriously. Well, I say to the chamber today that the coalition, the Liberals and Nationals, have made a significant decision: that if we are elected we will reprioritise the money from the Suburban Rail Loop, in particular the Cheltenham to Box Hill section of that project. That project is a project that has already blown out of control. The government initially said the three stages would be completed for $50 billion, but now we know that at a minimum $35 billion is what the state government are going to expend on just one stage, and the truth of course is that as with every project they touch, the cost will blow out massively and easily the $50 billion is what they will spend on just one stage—the Cheltenham to Box Hill stage.

Meanwhile our health system is in chaos in Victoria. We have got massive and terrible outcomes and delays with the 000 ambulance response service. It has been a disaster for so many people, with more than 20 people directly impacted and likely losing their lives through the failure of this government to provide a proper 000 service. We have seen waiting lists go through the roof. When I left government the last waiting list as health minister was just over 38 000. It is now 87 000, and that is not fully accounting for the huge surge in those wanting to get onto the waiting list waiting for their first appointment. The waiting list before the waiting list has blown out seriously. There are almost 90 000 people waiting in the state. Our health system is crumbling under Daniel Andrews and his many health ministers—he has had four in four years. No wonder it is chaos. The state’s debt is up, the health system is in crisis, waiting lists are up and the 000 service is in absolute and total chaos with lives being put at risk. We say that the money devoted to the Cheltenham to Box Hill section should be reprioritised and ploughed into our health system to make sure that our health system delivers for all Victorians. We need to fix the health system. We need to repair the damage done by Daniel Andrews and repair the damage done by his long list of health ministers, all of whom have failed badly in delivering for this system and for the state.

Victorian patients deserve better. We need our new hospitals built. We need hospitals across country Victoria, whether it is in Mildura or whether it is down in Gippsland, and we need new hospital capacity in the city too, at Sandringham and out in the western suburbs that have been so sorely forgotten by Labor. We need to make sure that the Melton hospital is built. The government promised this; they have never delivered it. They have not made the allocations. They have not delivered the outcomes that the people of the west require, despite the huge growth in population. In the east we need to make sure that our health system is rebuilt. The Caulfield campus of Alfred Health is one of the important ones, and we have made significant commitments today that if elected we will deliver a rebuild of that campus. I know that campus very well; it is part of my electorate. The community may not know, but one of the wards goes back to 1918, and it is frankly a disgraceful ward in the sense that it is not able to deliver in this 21st century.

We need a modern health system—a health system where the damage that has been done by Daniel Andrews is repaired. We need a health system that is properly funded, has proper support for staff and can actually deliver for Victorians. We will deliver that by reprioritising the money from the Cheltenham to Box Hill rail line and ploughing that into health to make our people safe.