Wednesday, 31 August 2022

 Mr DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan—Leader of the Opposition) (09:53): Today I want to draw the house’s and the community’s attention to the decision of the coalition to reallocate the Suburban Rail Loop money for the Box Hill to Cheltenham component and to put it into health projects. We have got a crumbling health system in this state, a serious health system failure. The 000 system is in failure, and we have got a very serious problem. We now have tents outside most of our public hospitals because the government cannot manage the health system. They have been in power for eight years now—

Ms Terpstra interjected.

Mr DAVIS: Box Hill—in your electorate. It is absolutely outrageous. And let us be quite clear: the money—the $13 billion that has so far been allocated at least officially, and maybe much more in contingency—should be redirected to support health projects. We have listed a number of projects, whether it is the Melton hospital, whether it is the Royal Children’s Hospital campus at Werribee, whether it is the Mildura hospital, whether it is Gippsland health care—a whole series of significant health projects. This can be funded responsibly by redirecting the money from the Box Hill to Cheltenham line. We know that the numbers there have blown out beyond all belief; $200 billion is the number that the Parliamentary Budget Office says, at a 0.6 benefit-cost ratio. It is an outrage.