Tuesday, 25 August 2026

 Sarah CONNOLLY (Laverton) (19:12): (1794) My adjournment is for the Minister for Public Transport, and the action I seek is that the minister update me on the rollout of our nine-car carriage V/Line trains on the Wyndham Vale line, as funded in the budget this year. If you are someone who lives in Truganina or Tarneit and you catch the train to work in the city, there is some really good news coming your way: your trains are about to get 50 per cent bigger, because all peak-hour services will be nine-car carriages – not just a few of them, all of them. It means it will be easier for you to get on the train, and it will be easier for you to get a seat. Only Labor has delivered and will deliver the rail improvements that we westies need.

Sadly, we know that these services are at risk this coming November. If Victoria elects a Liberal–One Nation government of cuts and chaos, they will cut these services from the Melton and Wyndham Vale lines. The Liberals want to take our trains off us. They want to leave the line thin, as the member for Bulleen said, and give those trains to Warrnambool or to Gippsland. And despite the member for Bulleen trying to walk back his comments and suggest that that is just a lie, his interview on ABC radio speaks for itself. ‘Excess services’ is what he called them, and he admitted that it would leave the lines thin but is certainly available. Well, I say to the member for Bulleen: anyone who catches the train in this part of Melbourne’s west will tell you that these trains are not excess, they are absolutely critical. We need more of these high-capacity trains, not less.

While we get on with delivering on major rail projects in the west – projects like airport rail, Sunshine superhub and paving the way for electrification – our plan is to ensure that we run as many high-capacity trains as possible. Whilst we are on track to deliver these projects, the only thing the Liberals are on track for is more cuts. Let us not forget it was the Liberals who tried to cut $2 billion from our Sunshine station superhub. Now they want to cut our trains too – because from Kew and Bulleen they will never, ever have to catch these kinds of trains in the morning. They do not care about the Melton and Wyndham Vale lines, and they will not deliver the services and the rail upgrades that we need. Only Labor delivers for the west.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I remind the member for Laverton that the l-word is unparliamentary in regard to members. Please refrain.