Thursday, 19 March 2026

 Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (09:55): Everyone who drives along the Western Highway asks the same question: why does it have to be so bad? And the short answer is it does not. But after years of Labor neglect, this is exactly what we have got: congestion, frustration and a highway that feels more like a major car park than a major piece of infrastructure. Residents from Melbourne through to Caroline Springs are paying the price. If you are travelling outbound between 4 pm and 8 pm, add another hour to your trip, and if you are travelling inbound 7 am to 10 am, add about the same. Frankly, if you are driving on the Western Highway at peak hour, bring your breakfast, bring your dinner, because you will not be eating them at home. The cause is obvious: chronic underinvestment. For years Labor have treated Melbourne’s west as somewhere to grow the population but not grow the infrastructure. Families sit in traffic, businesses sit in traffic, tradies sit in traffic. Meanwhile, the government sits on its hands to the point where Western Highway is not even transport infrastructure anymore; it is a monument to Labor’s neglect of Melbourne’s west and, judging by the traffic, it is a pretty well-patronised one.