Tuesday, 30 August 2022

 Ms ALLAN (Bendigo East—Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery) (14:15): Only the Andrews Labor government is getting on and delivering the Suburban Rail Loop, and let me tell you why. Alongside the benefits that come with thousands of extra jobs and better connections, I am delighted to update the house on the travel time savings the Suburban Rail Loop will bring to the suburbs of Melbourne. For example, you could be a student in Hawthorn and want to study at Monash University, the biggest university in Australia. You will save up to 80 minutes a day on that trip on the Suburban Rail Loop, because only the Suburban Rail Loop will deliver that long-waited-for train line to Monash University. A nurse in Croydon will save up to 80 minutes a day getting to the Victorian Heart Hospital. A cleaner in Sandringham will save an hour getting across to Deakin University in Burwood. And a grandparent in Gippsland will save an hour on a return trip to Box Hill to help look after the grandkids.

That is why Deakin University, Monash University, every council along the Suburban Rail Loop east corridor and councils in Gippsland support the Suburban Rail Loop—because it makes sense and will make a real difference to where people live and how they travel around the state. Without the Suburban Rail Loop Victorians know they will be condemned to sit in traffic for decades to come. That is why our government is continuing to invest, building the hospitals that treat patients and employ nurses, and building better transport connections to keep our city and state moving. Simply, governments can and should do both. That is what being in government is about, and only the Andrews Labor government will keep on doing both. (Time expired)