Tuesday, 18 November 2025

 Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Minister for Public and Active Transport) (14:28): While others in this house have spent the last 12 months fighting against each other, on this side of the house we have been busy fighting for Victorians and getting on with delivering the long-term transport and infrastructure projects that we know Victorians need and deserve. For almost a decade we have been building the Metro Tunnel, supporting over 7000 jobs and transforming our rail network to ensure that we can continue to add more trains more often across our network for generations to come. On Sunday 30 November we will open it, a year ahead of schedule. We have also been focused on delivering the West Gate Tunnel, a vital second river crossing, taking 9000 trucks off local roads and slashing commute times for people coming from Melbourne’s outer west. Over the weekend over 50,000 Victorians came along to check it out ahead of its opening in December. In 2016 we announced that we would build the North East Link project, the missing link in our freeway network, supporting about 12,000 jobs at full tilt. We are already halfway through tunnelling what are set to be Victoria’s longest road tunnels. These are futureproofing projects. They are projects that shore up our economic growth. These projects do not just connect our communities, they drive prosperity. Anyone with any economic nous knows that what you do not build today costs more tomorrow, and that means costing Victorians more tomorrow. Those opposite have shown Victorians time and time again that they are the party of division, of destruction and of cuts. Labor builds –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister knows not to use a ministers statement to sledge.

The SPEAKER: Minister, come back to your statement.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: Labor builds, Liberals cut. They cut services, they cut projects and they cut down each other.