Wednesday, 26 August 2026

 Renee HEATH (Eastern Victoria) (14:55): I move:

That the petition be taken into consideration.

Roadworks started on Bald Hill Road, Pakenham, in early 2025 and were meant to be completed within months. However, it ended up taking over 18 months – 18 months that customers and suppliers were either not able to access businesses on Bald Hill Road or had to take a difficult route to get there. These businesses were pushed to the wall. Costs are going up everywhere across our state – supply costs, electricity charges and of course the continual and unrelenting slug of taxes that come from the Labor state government. But this was another challenge on top of all of that. These businesses did what many of us would do: they tried to soldier on, did their best to communicate with their customers and looked for ways around the issues. But after a while they knew that the roadworks and the closures were having a very deep impact. After a slight decline in sales in March 2025, sales dropped by 23 per cent in April, 28 per cent in May and 41 per cent by June. The downfall and the trend continued through winter, and by November, revenue had collapsed by nearly 65 per cent compared to the February peak.

Rebekah Becsi from Pakenham Bulk Foods is here in the gallery with us today. Also, we have Zara here with us today, and we have David Farrelly, who I want to thank, along with Chris Noye and Colin, who went out and got so many signatures in order to fight to get this petition debated here today. Rebekah estimates that her business was losing 70 to 80 per cent of its revenue at its worst, but the bills did not stop coming in. At first Bek and her neighbours tried to speak with the local council about what they could do. They said they would raise it with the state government. I know some local MPs who are members of this Labor government who were contacted; however, they said the road would soon be completed and they should just wait.

Finally, after managing the situation for almost a year, Bek and some of her fellow traders reached out to me and my office for help. They were not looking for handouts, but they needed help. They needed somebody to recognise what they were going through and provide genuine assistance. Surely these businesses are not the first ones to go through something like this. They are not the first ones to be disadvantaged by the Allan Labor government’s – and now Carroll Labor government’s – delays and slow roadworks. However, even as someone who is a member of this place, I found it so frustrating. My first action was to contact the then Minister for Roads and Road Safety and the then Minister for Small Business and Employment. To the credit of the minister for small business, at least she did respond. However, her advice was that these businesses should subscribe to the Business Victoria newsletter and access some mental health support. That is actually the truth of what happened. The former Minister for Roads and Road Safety not only failed to respond in time, but when she did, she just passed the buck to the then Minister for Transport Infrastructure and the now Deputy Premier Gabrielle Williams. When I did raise the questions with the then Minister for Transport Infrastructure, her response was to refer to some flyer drops, extra signage and the offer of vouchers that could be redeemed if these businesses managed to get a customer in the door.

I wrote to the State Revenue Office to see if there were any options for these businesses to defer their land tax, and I was told to contact the then Treasurer Jaclyn Symes. Her response was nothing short of disgraceful. She did not respond until I raised it in this place, and then she finally wrote that the businesses should be grateful. She wrote:

I understand that improvements to Victoria’s infrastructure can cause uncertainty for businesses during construction. However, residents and businesses located in these areas will be the direct beneficiaries of these works.

I also questioned the former Premier and got a similarly dismissive response. The whole time that this government was buck-passing, dodging questions, avoiding answers and pretending that there was no problem, these businesses in Bald Hill Road were struggling. It has only been the opposition that has taken them seriously and put their concerns on the record here.

 Sheena WATT (Northern Metropolitan) (17:00): I rise to address the petition presented by Dr Heath. This government will not oppose this petition, but it is important to place it in the broader context of Labor’s investment in transport infrastructure in Pakenham. The south-east is booming, and it is only our government that will ensure that Pakenham and the communities all up and down Melbourne’s south-east have the transport infrastructure they need to get to the city and to get around that wonderful part of our state and the place that they call home.

Residents in Pakenham know that they have a passionate advocate for their community in state Parliament with Emma Vulin. Emma has been a champion not only for the roads her community needs but also for broader public transport to connect her growing suburbs to the city, like the new East Pakenham station and the new Metro Tunnel. Emma and our government know that meeting the needs of a growing community means investing in every part of our transport network. Our government is actively building and improving the road infrastructure that Pakenham deserves. The Pakenham roads upgrade is complete. This includes the Bald Hill Road upgrade; in fact the final stage of that upgrade, the Racecourse Road upgrade, finished in July this year, nine months ahead of schedule. It is on top of the increased rail services across the Pakenham rail corridor, and we all know that these direct rail upgrades will continue to make a difference for residents of Pakenham.

But it is not just about investing in existing roads; it is also about giving commuters options when travelling, taking cars off the road and also easing congestion. The new Metro Tunnel has been an absolute revelation for both my home in the inner north and those in the south-east looking to travel into the city for uni, for work or for play. Critically, it has freed up capacity for new services across our rail network, including more than 12,000 new weekly services on the Sunbury, Cranbourne and indeed Pakenham lines. These new services mean less time waiting and faster commutes for those in the south-east. I must say that I have met a range of exceptional medical professionals working in our research precinct here in Parkville that now travel in on the train from right along the Cranbourne–‍Pakenham line, and it has made a really remarkable difference to their lives. These new services absolutely mean less time waiting and faster commutes.

We also know that by getting more people onto trains we are helping to reduce pressure on the roads throughout the growing suburbs of the south-east and taking cars off the road during peak hours. Also we are slashing commuting times to and from work. From Pakenham right to the city, Labor’s investment in public transport is delivering the connections, capacity and opportunity that the folks of the south-east rightly deserve. It is not just these new train stations on the Pakenham line; as I said, there is so much love for the train upgrades. But we are not just about the new trains on the Pakenham line. I did talk about the exceptional medical research professionals in the medical precinct, but there are also a bunch of future health professionals and future scientists, teachers, lawyers and educators that find their home in the south-east who are now able to come to Melbourne University. In fact for some families it has opened up educational opportunities that, frankly, they may not otherwise have considered, but now, with the brand new station right in the heart of the University of Melbourne at the Parkville campus, there is that direct connection for students.

I just want to say that one of the students that I did chat to – I think it was perhaps two weeks ago now when I was at Parkville station talking to students about their experiences and what it means for them, and I do recognise that many of them do drive to the train station and then catch the train in – was from Officer and was recounting how it has literally been a real life-changer for them; it allows them to stop that really annoying transfer onto another train or a tram. It means that they can stay a little bit longer. There is also some comfort for their families, knowing that they are just on that singular transport route and knowing that there is lots of safety and security on that train. Students are taking on extra shifts in the city. They are taking on volunteering in the precinct there and also dreaming big about what their future could look like because of that train investment.

I just want to also acknowledge, perhaps in my final remarks, what was said in Dr Heath’s remarks about the disruptions during the periods of construction. They can be – absolutely – really challenging, and for local traders, for residents or for commuters travelling via the car or the train, I really do want to acknowledge that and thank them for their patience and understanding during that time. We are investing, frankly, in the communities that are growing, as growing communities deserve. I might leave my remarks there but say thank you to Dr Heath for bringing this to us.

 Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (17:05): I want to thank my colleague Dr Heath for bringing this petition forward, and she should be absolutely congratulated for the fight she has mounted for these businesses in Bald Hill Road. I do not think the Labor government have any idea what disruption and what absolute chaos they have caused for the traders in Bald Hill Road. These people are on their knees. They are desperate, and the government wants to talk about making trains better or some road better or something. They do not understand the absolute cost that this incurs for the businesses that have no business while these roadworks go on forever.

Once Dr Heath raised the issue with me and with the Leader of the Opposition Jess Wilson, we met with these affected businesses as quickly as we could. We met with them because they needed support, there and then. They were not able to wait for an election. They need the government to help them now. Of course the government were nowhere to be found – they absolutely do not care. They have no interest. I also ask questions of this government and receive similarly dismissive responses. I was concerned that many businesses may not survive long enough to see the intersection reopen following months of disruption already causing severe financial harm and with no promised assistance delivered to date. These local traders could barely afford rent, with little money left for wages, stock or utilities.

As outlined by Dr Heath, Pakenham Bulk Foods, for example, suffered an 80 per cent collapse in sales compared to February last year. For the record, I support infrastructure, but I also support the people who fund it, particularly small business owners who are shouldering the burden of the taxes and charges that keep this government afloat. We know the government does not care, but we do. I genuinely believe that the government should have engaged directly with these affected businesses and guaranteed some form of financial support to ensure they survive these works. Their response was nothing short of disgraceful and revealed the government’s dismissive attitude towards small businesses and those who pay the taxes that fund this government’s promises.

While we are well aware of the blowout in timelines – this government cannot complete any project on time or on budget – we are still yet to discover the true cost of this project. I am certain it will have cost much more than it was originally meant to, meaning these taxpayers will have been stung twice – once with a loss in revenue and now with cost increases. It does not matter if this Labor government changed their leader, we know that they can never deliver for Victorians.

The same problem occurred in my western region electorate. My constituents in Albert Street, Sebastopol, had roadworks that went on for months and months, and the compensation that the government thought was appropriate was a coffee voucher. Spare me! A coffee voucher – what was that going to do? Now, many did go to the wall. They could not survive it; they had no business. Businesses came to me in tears, so desperate were they about what was happening. You cannot believe how long it takes to fix one road. It seemed like a simple project. You would think we were building the tunnel, but we were fixing one road in Ballarat – no different to Bald Hill Road. An absolute disgrace, this government is. They cannot do anything properly, and they cannot do it within a budget. They do not care how they disrupt people, how they wreck their lives or how they wreck their businesses. They have no empathy for them, and yet they will talk about rolling out their major projects – the Suburban Rail Loop or some other major freeway or byway that actually takes way too long to deliver. But these roadworks within business areas of a local town or community are so badly done and they so disrupt a community that they wreck businesses. Thank you to Dr Heath and thank you to the petitioners that signed the petition.

 Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (17:11): I am pleased to rise to support the petitioners, each and every one of those people who signed this petition, and thank Dr Heath for raising this issue so very forcefully and compassionately and also for being on the ground. There is nothing like understanding the situation by standing in a shopfront with a small business owner as they are literally pulling their hair out and counting the loss of dollars that that impact has had. Certainly Pakenham is not a construction zone in a government construction project; it is a living community in a vital gateway between Melbourne and Gippsland. Indeed, Dr Heath and I share Eastern Victoria Region, and quite often we do a little bit of division of labour. Sometimes we will take various projects up, and I thank her very sincerely for taking this one on in terms of Eastern Victoria.

The construction commenced back in 2023, and there were prolonged closures. I, for my sins, have been a small business owner. I owned a health food store in Leongatha, Leongatha Health Foods. We took it on when it was most run down, and we spent hours, days and weeks in the front of the shop during the working day and in the back of the shop packing stock and doing bills et cetera and orders on the weekends and at night. Small business owners are the backbone of our communities. When the local netball club or the dance club eisteddfod comes round and says ‘Look, could you sponsor us in some way?’ or the charity comes to the door and says ‘Could you sponsor us?’ overwhelmingly small business owners put their hands into their pockets and say ‘You’re part of my community. I’ll support my community’.

We have got these fabulous people, who, if you think about it, have rising input costs and have got rising taxes. In fact we spoke about taxes this afternoon. To date I think it is around 67 new or increased taxes over the last 11½ years under the Labor government. So you have got new taxes, you have got high energy prices and you have got the high cost of insurance – overwhelmingly. We need our employees. They are very important people in a small business, and we value them very greatly. But all of those are input costs. Then you have a major disruption with major roadworks. That reopened in February, but the last and final upgrades were completed in July. You have this impost. The shopfront is important. Yes, in a modern society people can go online and you can sell things online, but so often it is that personal interaction and that service that the shopfront owner, the retailer, provides to the customer. They need that one-on-one advice, they need that service and they need to be able to walk in the front door, but they cannot when it is a construction zone outside the front door. I know that they survived COVID as well.

Labor celebrates the concrete poured and the lanes opened but refuses to count the businesses, the jobs and the family incomes that have been damaged along the way. The cutting of the ribbon is fine, but what has the whole community had to endure? Upgrades are important – there is no doubt about that – but you have to recognise the impost on local businesses. That is what this petition does. It certainly supports that. If we look at this, the community is asking for recognition of that impost and that pain that has occurred during this construction time. If you look at other construction areas, the Big Build comes to mind and indeed the government’s Big Build projects and the estimated $15 billion not in construction but in rorted money going to bikies and criminals and all sorts on those Big Build sites.

These community people have got their ABN, they have bought their stock and they are creating a throughput, a supply chain for good-quality stock or services, as the case may be. They are not asking for an overall handout; they are asking for recognition of pain and suffering during the course. That is not too much for a reasonable government to come to the party on. I thank the petitioners, and I thank Dr Heath for her work.

 Richard WELCH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:16): I am pleased to rise to speak on this petition and fully endorse Ms Bath’s comments on the work Dr Heath has done around this and for that community. It has been exceptional, and I am sure the community are appreciative. There is nothing like feeling you have been heard or that you have got a democratic avenue to be heard, so well done.

The petition revolves around the circus surrounding the upgrade of the Bald Hill Road and the extensive delays, with little or no concern for the traders and people affected, and it is just one more reason why we need a royal commission into the Big Build. These businesses could not get any assistance from the government. They were lucky to get even a response at all. Meanwhile, it is reasonable to assume that for every delay in the works on Bald Hill Road the costs have kept going up and up and up. These are the sorts of examples that we need to get to the bottom of.

The estimated $15 billion that has been lost to corruption in this state is not just going to be in one place; it is going to be a bit here and a bit there, which all adds up. We know that there are multiple projects where corruption and organised crime have seeped their way into building sites. This is undoubtedly the worst corruption scandal in Victoria’s history, and the state and the citizens of Victoria are absolutely entitled to know and have confidence that we are going to get to the bottom of it. We need to know where every single cent of taxpayer money has gone. There is no doubt that the Labor government knew about the Big Build corruption – I think that is pretty self-evident at this point – and it is equally clear that the Labor government knew but did nothing about it. Fifteen billion dollars in taxpayer funds has flowed to bikies and to organised crime figures and invited a systemic problem in the state. This equates to more than $5000 per Victorian household. How much of that money came from the Bald Hill Road project? Presumably at least some of it did.

A Wilson Liberal–National government will have a genuine royal commission into the Big Build, including all the unions that should be included, including all the people who should be called and named within the commission, because Victorians deserve to know what really happened, including those businesses in Bald Hill Road, who could not get any assistance at all from this Labor government.

 Renee HEATH (Eastern Victoria) (17:18): As you have heard tonight, this has been managed so badly from the very start. This government’s attitude has been appalling – consistent but appalling. There is never any appreciation of what business is going through, and their responses reveal how little they understand about what businesses in Victoria need. That could be part of the reason that 350 small businesses in Victoria have to close their doors every single day. This is a total disregard for people. Local businesses are the backbone of our communities, and they deserve better than stonewalling while their livelihoods are being stripped away. Businesses pay the taxes that keep the state going, that pay everybody in here. Surely they deserve a little bit of respect.

Mrs McArthur referred to the blowouts and how we still do not know the real costs. That is just symptomatic of a government that is not working. This is the last chance for the Labor government to treat these people with respect. We stand with the Victorian businesses – we stand with every single one of them – and we want to know if Labor does too.

In closing, I want to sincerely thank Rebekah and Zara from Pakenham Bulk Foods for being here tonight. There were so many other businesses that would have been here, but it did have to get done so quickly. I want to thank my colleagues Mrs McArthur, Ms Bath, Mr Welch and Ms Watt. I did think it was an interesting opportunity, though, for Labor to pat themselves on the back. It is a very, very strange opportunity to pat themselves on the back. I really want to sincerely thank David Farrelly, Stuart Eaton, Colin Moore and Chris Noye for getting out there and making sure that we had enough signatures to get this across the line. Your dedication to the business community in Pakenham is amazing. I commend this motion to the house.

Motion agreed to.