Thursday, 19 February 2026

 Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (12:51): My constituency question is for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure, and it asks: Minister, why have you failed to genuinely consult councils and industry on the removal of the Sunshine regional link crossovers as part of the redevelopment at Sunshine station? In my electorate the mayors of Southern Grampians shire and Yarriambiack shire have written to members of the opposition expressing deep concern about this proposal. If enacted, they believe that more industrial rail would be funnelled via the already congested Geelong–Werribee line. It would also force rail freight operators to travel an additional 47 kilometres, increasing train cycle times and fuel and crewing costs, or force more freight onto our crumbling and congested roads in Western Victoria. Minister, will you consider maintaining the crossovers and installing new rail signalling systems and pathways to keep our state moving?