Tuesday, 18 November 2025

 Richard WELCH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:50): My constituency question is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety. Now, every morning and every afternoon children from Surrey Hills Primary School are put at risk along Canterbury Road, and quite rightly, the community have been calling for a 40-kilometre zone along that section of Canterbury Road. I acknowledge that both the member for Box Hill and I have advocated for and support this, and the department endorsed a 40-kilometre zone back in February 2025. We are now in November 2025, and the minister has not allocated funding to implement the 40-kilometre zone. So frankly, I am actually concerned the minister and the member for Box Hill are playing politics with the children’s lives by deliberately waiting to announce funding for the school zone so that the member for Box Hill can win votes. Can the minister confirm that funding for the 40-kilometre zone is imminently forthcoming and that the minister is not colluding with the member for Box Hill to delay funding of this project to his political advantage?

The PRESIDENT: I do not think you can make accusations against a sitting member unless it is via a substantive motion. So maybe we will take out that bit about the allegation.

Richard WELCH: Can I confirm with the minister that funding for the 40-kilometre zone is imminently forthcoming?