Thursday, 24 September 2026

 Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (18:17): (2854) I rise to speak on a topic I think I have spoken about every single sitting week in this Parliament over four years, and that is of course Donnybrook Road in my electorate in the northern suburbs. My adjournment is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I seek is to provide a clear explanation of what works are about to take place on Donnybrook Road, if they are occurring now and when Donnybrook Road will start construction. I have been advised that the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority has been requested, at 5 seconds to midnight, to put up some construction safety barriers and roadwork infrastructure along Donnybrook Road prior to the election. This of course was met with a no from VIDA to the government, because that would mean that 40-kilometre speed limits need to be put up on Donnybrook Road. If this is correct, the minister needs to explain exactly why the government is asking the infrastructure delivery authority to put up roadwork infrastructure when works are not actually due until probably late next year, if not the middle of next year. The government’s own project information says that stages 1 and 2 remain in preconstruction, with technical investigations, design work and approvals still underway. Residents are entitled to be sceptical if barriers appear before the election.

After 12 years of neglecting Donnybrook Road you cannot fatten a pig on market day, and we have seen this government pour billions upon billions into a rail line in the eastern suburbs while Donnybrook Road is neglected. When the Liberals were last in government, we duplicated the Mickleham side of Donnybrook Road through a developer contribution plan that allowed Donnybrook Road to be duplicated while the estate was actually being built. Unfortunately, under this government – 12 years of neglect – we have seen nothing. We have seen nothing for Donnybrook Road. You cannot fatten a pig on market day. Only Amanda Dow, our Liberal candidate for Yan Yean, and Eddie Dadisho, our Liberal candidate for Kalkallo, have a $524 million plan to duplicate Donnybrook Road for good, from the bridge over the Hume all the way to Epping Road, including the level crossing. This comes after a lot of advocacy by me every sitting week in the Parliament and by my colleague Wendy Lovell as well. We can only deliver it with a plan, and only Jess Wilson and our Liberal team have a plan to duplicate Donnybrook Road for good.