Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As a Victorian member of this place, Minister, can I say that your will record is woeful when it comes to funding the Calder Highway. The member for Bendigo and others have noted that the only reason why some of those funding areas have been sorted is the focus put on that issue by the member for Bendigo and others. Between the area of Sunbury and Tullamarine intersection fatalities occur on a monthly basis. I hate to use such examples to underline the point, but these deaths should not be occurring. They are happening because there are three at-ground intersections with the freeway. The Victorian government minister has said that Victoria will provide half the funding, even though it is purely the responsibility of the Commonwealth, if you match it with the other half. If you match it with the other half, it would mean that we would have fewer fatalities and certainly less congestion on the Calder Highway and we would see more of the money being provided to the Victorian areas that are deficient in funding.

There is no doubt that Victoria does not get its fair share of the transport funding cake of the Commonwealth. In terms of the Calder Highway, it is a disgrace that so close to the CBD we have at-ground intersections onto a freeway, with fatalities occurring as a result. I ask you, Minister, to think about that when you are listening to the motion being debated here today. (Time expired)

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