Hansard debates

Mrs McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (14:27): I rise today to speak on the Project Development and Construction Management Amendment Bill 2020. The Labor government has wasted enormous amounts of taxpayer money on cost blowouts and projects through the act which this bill intends to amend. As referred to by Mr Davis, the $11 billion Metro Tunnel has seen an incredible cost blowout. The West Gate Tunnel has blown out by $3 billion, of which approximately $2 billion is linked to having to move PFAS-contaminated soil. Now they want to dump that soil from this tunnel project into western Victoria, into my electorate. They should have worked out what they were going to do with this toxic soil waste before they even signed the contracts for this project. No way should any of this waste be dumped in the food bowl of Victoria in the middle of Bacchus Marsh, right near schools and homes. It is an absolute scandal and it should not go there. So no doubt this project will blow out even more because they have not got their ducks in order before they even start it.

We have also seen the Barwon Heads Road upgrade blowout by $46 million, and the government refuses to explain why. This adds up to approximately $64 000 per day since the project was first announced about two years ago. This demonstrates how the Labor Party treats the taxpayers purse—as if it is their own money bank to splash and spend however they like, with no regard to prudence, transparency, accountability or best practice. Because of these cost blowouts in the billions generations of Victorian taxpayers will bear the burden of irreparable public debt due to just sheer incompetency and poor public process when spending other people’s money.

There is also significant disparity in infrastructure expenditure between metropolitan and rural areas, particularly in the vastly disproportionate allocation of funds by the Andrews government for rail infrastructure funding. Inside the tram tracks of Melbourne Daniel Andrews and his government are using almost $15 billion of Victorian taxpayer dollars for the removal of 75 level crossings—an average of $200 million for each individual project. I mean, I ask you: how can these projects possibly have price tags of that order? Additionally, $11 billion is being spent on the Melbourne Metro Tunnel project, which has blown out by a further $150 million. While it is obvious that expenditure needs to occur for these major projects, recent cost blowouts and criminal conduct by employees associated with the sky rail project point to waste and mismanagement on a grand scale under this government’s watch.

Meanwhile rural Victorians continue to miss out, with Premier Andrews and his Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Ms Allan, failing to fund vitally important rail infrastructure projects in rural areas; for example, the $440 million Murray Basin rail project, which is an essential upgrade to the rail freight system of western and northern Victoria, absolutely essential for moving produce from rural agricultural projects et cetera. This project, this scheme, which received 50 per cent federal funding, was managed by the state government, who announced it as, quote, ‘a critical project for regional Victoria’ when construction commenced in 2016. However, despite expectations that the Murray Basin rail project would be completed in late 2018, Minister Allan announced last year that funds for the project had been depleted, with cost blowouts preventing the completion of stage 2 and all further stages. How can this possibly be? This rail infrastructure project is essential to improving the prosperity and productivity of the agriculture and transport sectors of this rural Victorian food bowl and agribusiness area of Victoria. I mean, currently the times for moving produce on this rail system—they have got slower. A Cobb and Co would move faster than this rail system.

Only by enabling infrastructure investment in rural and regional Victoria will businesses, including many small and family businesses, be able to gain competitive access to the state, national and global economies. The botched management of the Murray Basin rail project by the Andrews government is a total disgrace and further evidence of the government’s inability to manage major projects on time and on budget.