Tuesday, 6 February 2024

Northern Victoria Region

Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (12:59): (625) My question is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the information I seek is the precise start date and completion date for building suicide prevention barriers on the Melrose Drive Hume Freeway overpass at Wodonga. My Assembly colleague the member for Benambra first raised this issue in 2019, almost a year after a New South Wales woman drove past six similar but protected bridges over the Hume in Albury to commit suicide. The federal government provided money for the barriers that year. The Victorian Labor government finally matched the funding in its 2022 budget; however, start dates and promises have come and gone. Now Ken Wright, the widower of the woman, has been told that the project is further delayed and been given a vague estimate of a start sometime in 2024 and completion later in the year. Ken deserves more than vague estimates. Will the minister please provide the precise start and completion dates for building suicide prevention barriers on the Melrose Drive Hume Freeway overpass at Wodonga?

David Davis: On a point of order, President, I was listening in the chamber, and I may not have heard clearly, but as I understand it Mr Puglielli made a point that seemed to me to intimate that either Israel or the Jewish community were involved in a genocide. I stand to be corrected, but that is the way that I took it, and others seem to have taken it the same way in discussion. Now, if that is the case, I think that is quite a serious accusation and I think, at a minimum, unparliamentary. As a point of order, I would ask you to look at the transcript and ensure that no accusation of genocide has been made.

The PRESIDENT: Mr Davis, I take note of the point of order. I actually did not get a chance to completely pay attention to Mr Puglielli’s constituency question, but I would say that members have parliamentary privilege to put on record their views. I am happy to look at it, but I uphold people’s right to have parliamentary privilege in views that other members would completely disagree with.