Wednesday, 1 November 2023

 Danny PEARSON (Essendon – Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Assistant Treasurer, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC) (14:16): What a segue! It all comes down to timing, doesn’t it.

I rise to update the house on the progress the Allan Labor government is making in delivering the transport infrastructure that Victorians need. Right across our city and our state thousands of workers are busy delivering the Big Build, and I dare say not too many members of this place would have made their way to Parliament today without going past one of our construction sites. I was delighted to be in Watsonia earlier this week to see the massive amount of work going on to assemble the two tunnel-boring machines that will deliver the North East Link. I know the Minister for Police and the Minister for Precincts cannot wait for tunnelling to get started next year to deliver on our promise to build the missing link in Victoria’s freeway network.

In the west we have finished tunnelling and are busy building the connections that will help take more than 9000 trucks off local roads every day as soon as the West Gate Tunnel opens in 2025. We are also upgrading key arterial roads, and thousands of Victorians –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, Rulings from the Chair makes it very clear that it is disorderly for any member to be reading a speech, and I put it to you that the minister is clearly reading from a speech.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Manager of Opposition Business, I was just about to pull you up for interjecting before you called your point of order.

Paul Edbrooke interjected.

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Frankston, leave the chamber for an hour.

Member for Frankston withdrew from the chamber.

The SPEAKER: Minister, were you reading from notes?

Danny PEARSON: I am referring to notes, Speaker.

The SPEAKER: The minister was referring to his notes. The minister to continue.

Danny PEARSON: We are also upgrading key arterial roads that thousands of Victorians rely on every day – roads like Craigieburn Road in the Minister for Community Sport’s electorate; Hall Road, which I know the Minister for Planning is super excited about; as well as the Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road, which will be an absolute game changer for the members of both Bass and Pakenham.

We are on track to open a year ahead of schedule, in 2025, the Metro Tunnel. That is going to connect Sunbury with the Cranbourne–Pakenham line, freeing up more space and more capacity in the city loop. That is going to mean that we are going to be able to run more trains more often. And the massive Suburban Rail Loop has established worksites right across the east of Melbourne in great locations like Box Hill and Glen Waverley as well as Burwood. Only an Allan Labor government is getting on with delivering the transport infrastructure that Victorians need now and well into the future.