Wednesday, 19 February 2025

 Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (17:20): I rise to speak today on the tabled report from the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, Major Projects Performance Reporting 2024, dated February 2025. It is an extraordinary report. It is a quite factual report. I want to start by saying how mortified I was and any independent observer would be at the comments today from the Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Ms Williams, describing the Auditor-General’s work as shoddy and criticising the work of the Auditor-General. But we see this so much with independent agencies: when they give the slightest criticisms of this government, it will describe and bat away reports of the likes of IBAC, the Ombudsman and the Auditor-General and attempt to undermine our independent agencies. Can I just say that is contemptuous and disgraceful.

The report exposes significant budget increases and highlights financial challenges facing Victoria’s infrastructure projects. It shows that major project costs have increased by $11.6 billion. In the last 12 months, of the 113 projects, 53 have collectively exceeded their original budgets by $14.9 billion – all of which the Labor Party have been attempting to cover up. The Labor Party have not been forthcoming in their budgets and budget process. We have a budget once a year and a budget update once a year; they have not been forthcoming about these blowouts.

We saw that the Auditor-General has recommended more meaningful reporting on major projects, including explanations of schedules, delays, blowouts and changes of scope. Yet for some reason – and you can understand her outburst this morning – the minister’s department, the Department of Transport and Planning, has rejected the key recommendation for more meaningful reporting on major projects. It actually goes into some detail in saying that the reporting that the departments have – that the minister has in her bottom drawer – is actually quite good and detailed, but we know that this government does not want us to see it. They do not want us to see it because of what they are hiding and what they have been hiding, which is $15 billion in budget blowouts on major projects. This government cannot manage money and cannot manage major projects, and it is Victorians that are paying the price for this.

We saw that the SRL East early works have blown out by $300 million – and this was hidden from the budget papers. We see risks identified again, and in the last sitting week the government was saying, ‘We don’t need to worry about risks. That was a document from a long time ago.’ The Auditor-General’s report identifies risk in the Suburban Rail Loop and exposes the fact that there have been many contaminated sites identified. When I asked the minister today to identify the sites – where they are – and if they are a threat to the community, how they would be remedied, the minister did not answer that question. I think people ought to know. The Suburban Rail Loop, as we know, is about as popular as the Premier right now, which is not very much. We ought to have some transparency around this. We know they have blown the budget now on this. Will further budget blowouts be in the upcoming May budget?

The Auditor-General’s Office report identifies that a price reset has been undertaken with the contractor on the Suburban Rail Loop already. Will the price reset – that investigation, that review – be factored into the upcoming May budget? Or will Mr Carroll – a friend of Mr Galea – get his way and reset the entire Suburban Rail Loop process so they can fund projects in the north, in the west and in the south-east? This is a scathing report. I recommend that all those on the other side read it.