Wednesday, 31 July 2024

 Wayne FARNHAM (Narracan) (19:13): (747) I rise this evening with an adjournment matter for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure, and the action I seek is that the minister take immediate action to reduce waste and blowouts on Victorian transport projects. We are seeing blowouts and budget blackholes on every government transport project. This affects my community, especially in regard to the Gippsland rail line. The Gippsland rail line commitment was originally $520 million. It is now at $878 million, and the project is still not completed. The bridge duplication across the Bunyip River has not happened as originally promised when the project was originally specced out. But think of that for a moment: the $350 million blowout on that is half of the cost of the West Gippsland Hospital, a hospital that is now being shelved in the budget. So if the government can rein in and control these transport projects and stop the budget blowouts, the people of Victoria will get the benefit because they will get projects delivered, rather than being shelved. This is affecting my community greatly. Like the member for Morwell, I have intersections that are in desperate need. They are deathtrap intersections that need to be completed. We need to get the spending under control. The minister needs to go back to these projects and look at them and look at the contracts, especially now after what we have found out about the CFMEU’s behaviour and the bribery and extortion that have been happening there which are causing cost blowouts. I am urging the minister to go back, have a look at these projects – especially if they are CFMEU projects, like the Gippsland rail line is – look at the contracts and get the spending under control.