Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion that's been moved by the member for Gellibrand, because it is about Victorian rail infrastructure. I wanted to make a couple of points about how critical this is to the regions in unlocking our potential. Here is a fact: the first new rail line to be built in Victoria in decades, in almost 100 years, was the Regional Rail Link. That was funded by the former Labor government, partnered with by the state Labor government. On the opening day, I'm not surprised that we didn't have any current members of the government turn up. The shadow minister, Anthony Albanese, was there, as well as federal and state MPs. They jumped onboard with the minister for tourism, Jacinta Allen, who is a member in my part of the world, and celebrated this great achievement.

The Regional Rail Link has helped reduce travel times for people in Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat to get into Melbourne. We are growing in the regions and we need access to fast, reliable trains. The Regional Rail Link has allowed us to have that. The $3.2 billion that was committed to Regional Rail Link really helped the regions. It allowed towns in the metro areas to have access to rail services like they never have before. It allows people living in my electorate in Woodend and Kyneton to get to town in less than an hour. Our goal in Bendigo is to one day have peak, express services from Bendigo to Melbourne in an hour. It can be achieved, if we actually have the investment and the commitment.

This is where the commitment around Melbourne's airport link comes in. The government's plan is short-sighted. It completely forgets the regions and locks the regions out of any of this investment. What the government wants to do is create a new rail link straight through Maribyrnong, straight through the north and straight to the airport. It will probably do a public/private partnership and probably give the contract out to a for-profit company. It does nothing to help the regions. People in the regions would still have to go all the way into Southern Cross, and then come out.

I support, and want to see, this government commit to an appropriate route—a route that can not only advance airport rail link but help to unlock the potential of the regions. This is why I support what state Labor has put forward: let's make Sunshine a hub. If we make Sunshine a hub, connecting to the Regional Rail Link, Bendigo, Geelong and Ballarat services can meet in Sunshine, then send from Sunshine out to the airport. People can get on at Southern Cross and come to Sunshine. Let's make Sunshine the next Southern Cross, the next hub for rail. This is how we can help people in the regions get around Victoria.

It's taken this government—the Liberal-National Party—a very long time to get onboard with Regional Rail Link. They have dragged their feet. They've not invested in the regions. It's taken a state Labor government to get onboard. We know the jobs that regional rail are generating. We know the jobs that their program of building rail is generating—lots of CFMEU members working hard to deliver, on time or ahead of time, our regional projects. This is good investment. We are also seeing in Victoria a commitment, because of state Labor, to build the rolling stock in Victoria. You can get on a train and—it's true—it says 'made in Victoria'. We are making trains again in Victoria because we had a state Labor government commit to it, and federal Labor has also committed to a national rolling stock rail plan. It can be possible. We can invest and create local jobs by building public infrastructure, whether it be the trains or whether it be the rail.

This is something that the government does not seem to care about. They don't commit to apprentices in their contracts. They demonise, victimise and bully unions who try to stand up to make sure that we have safe workplaces. We need to work in partnership with industry and we need to work in partnership with our states to deliver. That is why I support the motion that is before us. It is a genuine acknowledgement and commitment towards rail and it doesn't ignore the regions, which is what this government has done in infrastructure funding in Victoria for a long time. Let's have an appropriate route for access to the airport that continues to unlock the potential in the regions and builds upon the success that Labor started with the Regional Rail Link.

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