Thursday, 23 June 2022

 Mr QUILTY (Northern Victoria) (12:49): (1875) My constituency question is to the Minister for Public Transport. Minister, when will you return a passenger train service to Mildura? It has been close to 30 years since Mildura’s passenger trains were removed. The neglect of Mildura’s passenger rail has happened under successive state governments; you cannot continue to blame this on the Kennett government. Mildura is the only one of Victoria’s major regional cities without a passenger rail service. It is our most isolated city, home to over 30 000 people, including in Wentworth, the Mallee and the corridor, and 250 000 people call the north-west home. Recently the Rail Revival Alliance released a detailed proposal for reintroducing a passenger rail service between Mildura and Melbourne. The report sets out how communities along the line will benefit economically. The proposal is to support strategies outlined in the Victorian visitor economy master plan. Having a passenger rail line to Mildura will make the rest of the state accessible to some of our most isolated Victorians and vice versa. It is time to bring passenger rail back to Mildura.