Wednesday, 31 May 2023

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (18:00): (265) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, and it concerns the status of stage 3 of the Shepparton line upgrade project. In the wake of information contained in last week’s state budget, the action that I seek from the minister is that she provide me with information clarifying the status of stage 3 of the Shepparton line upgrade project, including explaining the funding shortfall of almost $77 million exposed in the 2023–24 state budget; the current expected completion date; and a commitment that the nine weekday return services will be delivered regardless of the Commonwealth funding review.

The people of the Goulburn Valley have been waiting patiently for many years for the delivery of improved rail services between Shepparton and Melbourne. Despite being in government for 20 of the last 24 years, it was only in 2020 that Labor finally promised to deliver nine weekday return rail services to and from Melbourne. These were to be delivered upon the completion of stage 3 of the Shepparton line upgrade, and funding of $400 million was provided in the 2020–21 state budget, although no completion date was provided. This funding of $400 million was also contained in the 2021–22 state budget, which also disclosed a completion date for stage 3 as quarter 4 of the 2023–24 financial year, and the same figures were included in the 2022–23 state budget. Included in the total estimated investment (TEI) figure of $400 million is $320 million of federal government funding that was committed in 2020.

The 2023–24 state budget handed down by the Treasurer last week has raised some concerns regarding this federal funding and in turn the project itself. On page 185 of budget paper 4, ‘State Capital Program’, the total estimated investment for the Shepparton line upgrade has changed from $400 million to ‘to be confirmed’. The breakdown of expenditure on the project is listed as $323,324,000, a shortfall of almost $77 million from the $400 million included in past budgets. The budget also listed the estimated completion date of this project as ‘to be confirmed’. Most concerning is a footnote in the budget regarding the project which reads:

The TEI includes $320.000 million of Commonwealth Government funding. This project may be subject to the Commonwealth Infrastructure Investment Program review.

The information contained in the budget casts doubt over the future of this vital project and creates more questions than answers – namely, where is the missing funding of almost $77 million, when will the project be completed, is the federal funding for the project going to be delivered as promised and will the state still deliver the project if federal funding is withdrawn? The minister needs to come clean with the people of the Goulburn Valley and reiterate her promise to deliver the Shepparton line upgrade stage 3 project and the much-anticipated nine weekday return services between Shepparton and Melbourne.