Tuesday, 10 September 2019

Mr DAVIS: The point I want to make today relates to the submission by the cities of Boroondara, Whitehorse and Banyule and their leading expert on freeway design, Andrew O’Brien. He has stated in evidence to the environment effects process on the North East Link Project a number of key points. He said:

Without the East West Link, the North East Link would not be able to achieve the slated benefits.

He said it will result, if there is no east–west link, in ‘chronic queueing’ at Hoddle Street also worsening. He said:

One of the underlying assumptions not stated in the Environmental Effects Statement documentation is that the Hoddle Street queues are mitigated by another major infrastructure project … the East West Link.

The community understands that Daniel Andrews tore up the contract, squandered $1.3 billion and has repeatedly refused to take $4 billion from the federal government to build this road. In fact it would be built now if he had just let that process go on—the construction that had begun. Now, bizarrely, he wants to heritage list part of the end of the Eastern Freeway. Blind Freddy can see that a huge North East Link Project will funnel massive traffic to the end of the Eastern Freeway, and the need for the east–west link will grow. The government needs to get over itself. It needs to take a step back. It needs to recognise that it has got this seriously wrong— (Time expired)