Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Labor Party wants to tell us all that their budget funding will make journeys quicker and ensure that Australians return home to their families safely. Which part of cutting previously promised road projects in my electorate of Casey is achieving this? Which part of declining to improve road safety in bushfire-prone areas ensures that Australians return home to their families safely? Like always, the Labor Party is saying one thing and doing another.

Bipartisan agreement was reached in 2019 to upgrade Wellington Road. The Labor Party and the previous coalition government had committed to this important project that would see the duplication of the key bushfire escape route for those in towns in the Dandenong Ranges. But, no, the Labor Party have gone back on their word, with the local CFA labelling Labor's decision to cancel the project as 'really distressing news for our community'. The local council wants it, stakeholders want it, the CFA wants it and the coalition wants it—even the Labor Party wanted it—but it was cut anyway. The Labor Party felt that there were more important things to try and achieve over the safety of Casey's constituents. Instead, in the Treasurer 's budget last month, he committed $2.2 billion to Victoria's Suburban Rail Loop without submitting the funding to an independent assessment by Infrastructure Australia. Many opposite have spoken about this project, but they failed to mention that it hasn't gone through Infrastructure Australia. It's quite puzzling, because I recall that in March now Prime Minister Albanese said in his budget reply speech:

Labor will make sure that those investments really stack up, using the Infrastructure Australia model that I established …

Like always, like his $275 power bill promise, this is another example of the Prime Minister saying one thing to get elected and another when in government.

This project, according to Victoria's Parliamentary Budget Office, is expected to blow out to more than $125 billion before its completion in 2085, and we now hear that it's going to the north as well. Even the Auditor-General has criticised the lack of detail in this proposal. Ripping up plans for investments in roads, rail, bridges, dams and community infrastructure facilities is not how we build a more prosperous, stronger and sustainable Australia. Investments in infrastructure are a key plank in growing the Australian economy, but this budget has no plan to grow our national economy. The Albanese government's first budget has distracted the majority of its so-called savings by axing or deferring infrastructure projects across the nation, including the Wellington Road duplication. It is easy to save if you get nothing done, and this is what the Albanese government is trying to tell us—that by cutting vital road and rail projects that would get Australians home to their families sooner and safer the economy is suddenly better off.

In 2019, vital infrastructure projects in Casey were funded by the federal coalition government, including the Canterbury Road duplication and the Killara Road and Station Street intersection upgrade. These investments are needed in our communities and, three years later, Casey residents are still waiting for the state government to get on with the job and start these projects. These projects are now at risk of not being delivered by the Andrews Labor government. These projects and upgrades are not just a matter of convenience but a matter of safety. Labor's decision is more evidence that they don't care as much about Victorians in local communities as they say they do. So I will keep fighting for upgrades for Casey, even as the federal and state Labor governments avoid collaboration on these projects. I'm saddened that the Labor Party's failings are being felt by my constituents already in this manner. I am saddened that a bipartisanship agreement has been rescinded. It's another example of this Labor government and this Prime Minister playing politics with our community. Once again, they say one thing to get elected, whether it's the promise of $275 power bills, a commitment to the Wellington Road duplication or the commitment to getting real wages growing when this budget has shown they're not; this government says one thing in opposition and breaks its word in government. It's a disgrace and it lets down all Australians.

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