Wednesday, 5 March 2025

 Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (18:18): (1473) My adjournment is for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure, and the action I seek relates to Infrastructure Victoria’s 30-year infrastructure strategy, which was published this week. The action I seek is actually a recommendation in this, which is to commit to electrifying the Craigieburn line towards Kalkallo. It does recommend electrifying the Craigieburn line to Kalkallo, by extending the Upfield line to Roxburgh Park and allowing trains to run towards Kalkallo via Upfield and building two new stations. These are the kinds of opportunities that we would be able to build if the government was not so stubborn in its pursuit of its Suburban Rail Loop in the eastern suburbs. How would you feel being a member for Western Metro or a member for Northern Metro and being content with your government spending $35 billion, minimum, on a rail tunnel in the eastern suburbs? They are not doing their job in advocating for their community, so I will.

The Upfield line desperately needs to be duplicated, and we know the level crossings that Ms Watt and others advocated for were pushed back to after the next election – the ones on the Upfield line – but we desperately need them. The Infrastructure Victoria report makes its priorities very clear. It mentions the Suburban Rail Loop twice – and they are passing mentions. It is mentioned four times in footnotes, and one of those was referencing the enormous cost as outlined in the independent Parliamentary Budget Office report. The government really needs to get on board with electrifying up to Kalkallo and actually building infrastructure in our growth areas. The government are doing all these activity centres in the inner city because they have raised the white flag on delivering for our growth areas. I have areas in my electorate like Beveridge, where it takes over 45 minutes to get onto Lithgow Street to the Hume Highway. It is an island of housing estates that has no shopping centre or supermarket. It has got two childcare centres but not much else besides the golf course. In Kalkallo you are stuck for about half an hour to 40 minutes in your housing estate to get onto Donnybrook Road, which is a single-lane farm track that goes onto the Hume. You are spending another 20 minutes, at least, on Donnybrook Road to get to the Hume. The government need to take a good read of this Infrastructure Victoria report – they clearly have not – and pause their reckless Suburban Rail Loop.