Tuesday, 26 August 2025

Western Metropolitan Region

David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan) (12:52): My question is for the Minister for Ports and Freight. A constituent from Footscray is concerned that efforts to reduce truck traffic in the west will be undermined by a proposal to remove the Sunshine rail crossover as part of the Sunshine superhub project. Connecting western Victoria to the Port of Melbourne, the removal will likely force thousands of tonnes of produce onto trucks as the detour via Geelong and the single track at Newport have limited viability. Freight operator Qube told the Age:

At a time when we are trying to encourage greater volumes of freight to shift from road to rail … the current proposal will effectively incentivise the reverse.

My constituent asks: has the minister given up on mode shifting freight to rail, and if so, how will they mitigate the impacts of increased truck traffic and emissions in Melbourne’s west?