Tuesday, 3 March 2026

 Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (12:37): My question is to the Minister for Regional Development. In September 2024 I asked the Minister for Regional Development, the then minister, Ms Tierney, about parking in Ballarat. The commitment that I was given then, and I quote directly from Hansard, is there will be:

… 120 car park spaces at the Ballarat GovHub … and they will become available next year.

Minister, 2025 has come and gone, and the 120 car park spaces have not been delivered as promised by your department. Why not?

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:38): I thank Mr McCracken for his question. We have had a conversation about car parks in Ballarat a couple of times. There has been the delivery of over 2000 car parks in and around Ballarat CBD by this government, including around 14,000 free parking spaces.

A member interjected.

Jaclyn SYMES: 1400. Obviously this is all about supporting the jobs and economic growth of this regional city. It includes 147 completed car parks in the CBD, over 400 opened at the Ballarat Base Hospital and another 1400, as I said, through the Ballarat station redevelopment and the council’s smarter parking program. The Ballarat GovHub features a two-storey underground car park. The car park spaces were required based on the capacity of the building and were designed to meet the specific business needs of the GovHub tenants to house Victorian government vehicles. You would be aware of some of the tenants in there and some of the issues that they have to contend with. RDV are working across government to understand how an increase in demand from GovHub tenants will impact the number of car parking spaces that could be available for use by the public. We will continue to work on this issue and update the Ballarat community as these works progress. Thank you, Mr McCracken.

 Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (12:39): Minister, I reject the premise of your response because I asked you whether they had been delivered or not. They clearly have not been delivered, and you did not say that. They have not been delivered, because they are not accessible to the public. So my question to you as a supplementary is: Minister, according to a Ballarat Courier article that was published just last week your department would not even commit to giving a timeline for when those parking spaces will be delivered – why not, when they are already overdue?

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:40): Mr McCracken, the premise of my answer was to provide you with details about car parks. I can go through a breakdown of all of the new government car parks funded in Ballarat for you, because I have got a list here: Ballarat hospital and Ballarat GovHub, 520 free parks; the new Ballarat smarter parking program, 437 parks.

Joe McCracken: On a point of order, President, my question was very specific to GovHub parking, and that is why I mentioned –

Members interjecting.

Joe McCracken: Can I please do my point of order? I mentioned 120 car parking spaces at GovHub in Ballarat. That is what I mentioned, and I am asking for a response on that particular car park, please.

The PRESIDENT: I will call the minister back to the question.

Jaclyn SYMES: I was providing you more details, Mr McCracken, because I answered your supplementary question in the substantive answer, where I specifically talked to you about the GovHub, its tenants and the two-storey car park that is at that facility. So maybe refer back to my answer to your substantive question, and then we can follow up, if you have got any more details that you want, because I have provided you with the information that you asked for.