Wednesday, 17 May 2023

Level crossing removals

David SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (14:14): My question is to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure. A former Labor staffer’s business Qdos has been paid by the minister’s department as part of a secretive program to monitor the views of Victorians. When did the minister first become aware that Qdos had been contracted to do this work?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery) (14:14): I thank the shadow minister and the member for Caulfield for his question and ongoing declaration of the opposition that he runs to each and every one of our removal of 110 dangerous level crossings across the suburbs of Melbourne. In terms of the reference to the company he mentions, I can advise the house that Qdos are one of a number of companies that are engaged, appropriately through the level crossing removal authority, to engage with the community on guess what – talking to the community about what they would like to see through the removal of 110 dangerous and congested level crossings.

David Southwick: On a point of order, Speaker, I would ask you to bring the minister back to answering the question. We are not interested necessarily in what the Qdos company is doing, but when the minister was actually informed that this contract was given to her Labor mates. When was this contract given to her Labor mates?

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Caulfield has been told several times that a point of order is not an opportunity to repeat the question. I remind members of that if they are asking a question and taking points of order. The Minister for Transport and Infrastructure was being relevant to the question that was asked around transport infrastructure and the contract.

Jacinta ALLAN: Thank you, Speaker. In case the member for Caulfield missed it as he was busy filling his head with how he could next oppose the removal of 110 dangerous and congested level crossings, as I indicated the company is one of a number that is engaged by the level crossing removal authority through the major transport infrastructure agency to assist us in removing 110 dangerous and congested level crossings across the City of Melbourne. One of the activities that those companies are engaged in, as I indicated, is talking to local communities about not only how we can make those communities safer, not only how we can reduce road congestion around the removal of level crossings, not only how we can build new train stations but indeed how we can support other community activities. I have got some examples for the member for Caulfield. The member for Preston will be fully aware of this, as the member for Northcote will be as well. When we went in and said we were going to remove the level crossing on Bell Street, the community said ‘Can you do the other three around it’ in response to the work that was undertaken by these organisations.

David Southwick: On a point of order, Speaker, I would just ask you to bring the minister back to answering the question. We asked for a date. That is all we want: a simple date. When did the minister first become aware –

The SPEAKER: Order! I cannot tell the minister how to answer the question. She was being relevant to the question that was asked.

Jacinta ALLAN: Thank you, Speaker. We are proud to have a first-class community engagement program that works with communities on things like station designs and bike paths and sporting facilities and open space. For example, the member for Box Hill and I are going next week to not only two dangerous and congested level crossings where two women lost their lives at this level crossing on Union Road at Surrey Hills, but we also had the opportunity through an extensive conversation with the community to make sure that we could put a deck over the area of the trench at Mont Albert and retain that station for future community use. These are the sorts of examples where, when you have a policy commitment to remove 110 dangerous and congested level crossings, a commitment –

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister’s time has expired.

David SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (14:18): Did the minister or her office have any involvement in the awarding of the taxpayer-funded contracts to Qdos?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery) (14:19): This says it all about how those opposite would operate if they were in government. I can categorically put on the record that decisions like this are made by the level crossing removal authority and officials in the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority. They are made at that level as is appropriate across the public service, who are authorised to make these decisions. In that decision-making it was a very deliberate decision, a policy setting of the government, that we wanted to engage with the community and consult. But I will say this: it is true that we have not listened to everyone. It is true that we have not listened to everyone.

A member interjected.

Jacinta ALLAN: We did not listen to you. We did not listen to you, did we?

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister is warned.

David Southwick: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the question was simply about when her office or she was first aware of these contracts. I ask you to bring her back to the question.

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister was being relevant to the question. Has the minister concluded her answer?

Jacinta ALLAN: I’ve got more –