Wednesday, 14 May 2025

Ministers statements: Suburban Rail Loop

Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Minister for Housing and Building, Minister for Development Victoria and Precincts) (12:19): It is timely off the back of the last question that I rise today to update the house on Australia’s largest housing project, the Suburban Rail Loop. Major construction has kicked off with works powering ahead to prepare for the tunnel-boring launch site in Clarinda, where tunnel boring will begin next year. Tunnel-boring machines will arrive later this year before they start carving out the southern section of the twin Suburban Rail Loop tunnels. Last week I was delighted to join the Premier and caucus colleagues out onsite where teams are working around the clock to deliver this transformational project.

I specifically want to acknowledge the outstanding work and ongoing support for this project from members in this chamber: Mr Batchelor; the President, Mr Leane; Ms Terpstra – really wonderful to see you on site; and the members for Clarinda, Ashwood, Glen Waverley, Oakleigh and Mordialloc as well. The Suburban Rail Loop will mean more housing on the doorstep of world-class public transport so that Victorians spend less time in congestion and more time with their loved ones.

On 3 May Victorians were once again asked to deliver their verdict on this project. They were given a very clear choice: a choice between Peter Dutton’s plan to sack 4000 workers, block 70,000 new homes and deny Victorians the transport infrastructure that they have backed in time and time again or supporting the positive plan offered by the Albanese government to partner with us on projects like the Suburban Rail Loop and invest in Victoria. Well, Victorians made their choice, and they made it very clearly: for a fourth election in a row we saw that the partnership between the Labor government in Victoria and the Labor government in Canberra has been made abundantly clear.

So from Box Hill to Glen Waverley, from Cheltenham to Ashwood and across the eastern suburbs – a shout-out to the new members for Deakin and Menzies – communities have backed in the Suburban Rail Loop and sent a very clear message to those opposite. They want more housing and they want more access to transport connections, and that is exactly what we are delivering. You never supported it. You do not support it now. You never will support it. You have no solution and no plans for the problems that you are happy to identify and do nothing about.