Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This week's Labor budget delivered the $10 million we promised to kickstart the Western Highway upgrade. The Western Highway is the main road between Melbourne and Ballarat, and connects the towns of Ballan, Bacchus Marsh and Melton in my electorate. In fact, 77,000 vehicles travel the stretch between Melton and Caroline Springs every day. The last time the federal government upgraded this crucial road was under the last Labor government, when the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport was a bloke named Anthony Albanese.

The people of Hawke, Melton, Bacchus Marsh and Ballan are relieved to see that the Albanese government is kickstarting the Western Highway upgrade. In Tuesday's budget the government announced that we will be delivering on our commitment with a $10 million business case, the critical foundation for the remediation and upgrade works we so desperately need. I thank Minister Catherine King for her support and tireless work in ensuring that our community can get to work efficiently and home to our loved ones safely. With the population around Melton set to reach almost 450,000 by 2051, it's clear that only the Albanese Labor government will ensure that our infrastructure keeps up.