Thursday, 13 August 2026

 Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Education, Minister for Skills and Training, Minister for First Peoples, Minister for Women and Gender Equality) (09:39): When Labor first came to office, the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines were among the worst performing on our rail network. Commuters were paying the price for underinvestment, spending more time waiting on platforms and less time with their families and communities. That is why this Labor government got on with the job of removing every dangerous and congested level crossing down the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines and in doing so cut travel times, improved safety, reduced congestion and reconnected our communities.

We have also opened the Metro Tunnel, and the results speak for themselves: the Cranbourne and Pakenham line is now the best performing on the network, with turn-up-and-go services every 4½ ‍minutes during the peak and 100 extra services operating a week. Projects and investments like these do not just ensure we have a rail network that is built for the future, they ensure and preserve the livability of this state. My constituents are now better connected to jobs, to study, to health care, and of course to each other.

Because every dollar saved on the daily commute is a dollar that can go towards groceries, bills or other aspects of the household budget, we have halved the price of fares and made travel free for kids as well, saving families up to $755 per child per year. These are real savings, but this November all of this is at risk because the Liberal–One Nation coalition is promising more than $40 billion in cuts, and you can bet your bottom dollar that public transport and rail services will be on the chopping block, costing people opportunities and hurting productivity.