Thursday, 2 April 2026

 Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC) (09:48): Works are back on track for Melbourne Airport rail stage 1, bringing my community closer to a train station for the people of Airport West, Keilor Park and East Keilor. The Labor governments of Anthony Albanese and Jacinta Allan have delivered over $4 billion in investment. But this is about more than tracks and trains; it is about people. It is about more time with family, more time with communities and a real, tangible opportunity to get communities that have been car-dependent for generations onto Victoria’s public transport system.

Sunshine station is set to become a true transport superhub, handling more than 1000 trains a day, linking our community to the Metro Tunnel, regional Victoria and of course Melbourne Airport. This will be a major gateway out in Melbourne’s west. The community, though, continue to ask: what comes next? Well, what I can say is we will go to a turn-up-and-go train system out in Melbourne’s western suburbs. We know the people of Brimbank, Moonee Valley, Airport West, Keilor East and Keilor Park have long called for a turn-up-and-go system where they can go not only to the CBD but to the Melbourne Airport as well. We know that so much of the workforce lives and resides in Melbourne’s western suburbs. I am really proud, because I know Melbourne’s west does deserve a world-class public transport system, and that is what our Labor government will do. It will electrify the north-west. It was wonderful to have the Minister for Transport Infrastructure in the community just recently to celebrate and mark the milestone of airport rail getting back on track.