Thursday, 16 November 2023

Western Metropolitan Region

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (12:49): (575) My question is for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure. Will the government commit to building the Melbourne Airport rail link? The west of Melbourne is growing rapidly, and tourism to Victoria continues to grow, from 60 million visitors in 2014 to 100 million visitors in the year before COVID, and now we are almost back to pre-COVID levels. We are the only major city without a rail link to its airport. If we want to be a top destination for global travellers and interstate business, we need to have a rapid and seamless connection between the airport and the city. The airport rail link will be good for the western suburbs, good for the city of Melbourne and good for the state of Victoria. Federal infrastructure minister Catherine King said the Melbourne Airport link is ‘a project I think is very important for the state of Victoria’. The federal government is due to release a review today. Minister, will the state government commit the funds to build the Victoria airport rail link?