Tuesday, 31 March 2026

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:13): The war in the Middle East is being felt in households across our state, and we are seeing, as those global oil prices rise, Victorians feeling even more pressure in their household budgets. As Premier, I am determined to do everything in my control to help ease that pressure for families in every corner of the state, and that is why our Labor government has made public transport free for a month, starting from today.

This morning, along with the Minister for Public and Active Transport and the member for Sunbury ‍– who, yes, caught the train from Sunbury this morning – I caught a train into Parliament, and we spoke to passengers who told us directly what a difference this support is making. There was a university student travelling to Monash Caulfield who told us how every dollar counts for her and this will mean more money for her at the end of the week, particularly for groceries and meeting the rent. There were two family members from Rockbank who told us how they would normally drive into the city but because public transport was free they caught the train. They used the Metro Tunnel for the very first time, saving on fuel. I spoke to dozens of people this morning who told me the same thing: it is a little bit of help but is making a big difference to families and households. That is what this support is about: putting money back into people’s pockets, easing the pressure too at the pump and helping those who need to drive by getting more cars off the road.

We know in this global oil crisis this will not fix every problem, but we know there is also more to do. It is a real and meaningful step that we have taken to help Victorians, and Victorians deserve to know that they have got a government that listens and stands with them and will support them every day, helping and looking at ways to make life easier and more affordable for working people.