Major Transport Projects Facilitation Amendment Bill

I rise in support of the Major Transport Projects Facilitation Amendment Bill 2019, which is essentially about making sure that Victoria continues its role as the leader in infrastructure delivery. The proposed bill addresses the issues that often arise between utilities and project proponents in the…

North East Link – public transport ready

My question is to Minister Pulford representing the Minister for Public Transport. I ask the minister to detail the government’s plans to ensure public transport infrastructure in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne is operating at peak capacity and offers the most attractive solution for travelling…

Rowville Rail Line planning & design works due

Mr BARTON (Eastern Metropolitan) (18:04): The matter I raise tonight is for the Minister for Public Transport, Minister Horne. I ask the minister for an update on the progress of planning and design works on the Rowville public transport extension. In April last year the Labor government announced $3 million for design and planning works for a train or rail extension between Caulfield and Rowville. At the time they said these works would be complete in a year—tick-tock. The 2018–19 federal budget also promised $475 million over a five-year period towards construction of a heavy rail line to service Monash.

In talks with Knox council this week we reviewed their public transport vision. The council’s preference is to run heavy rail from Huntingdale through to Rowville. They expressed concerns that stopping at Monash would disadvantage those travelling from the east and that any future business case for a further extension would never stack up if only part of the project was completed now.

Commuters in the eastern suburbs are car captives, the public transport offerings to move around these areas are minimal, and this contributes significantly to increasing congestion on our freeways and roads. Businesses along the proposed extension in Knox and Monash generate almost $27 billion to our state and national economy. These business communities are expanding rapidly, offering jobs, apprenticeships and education opportunities to local residents and those travelling from new suburbs further out. However, getting to work by public transport is almost impossible and car congestion in the area is a nightmare and will only get worse. So I ask the minister to release the findings of the planning and design works through to Rowville or provide an explanation of why this project has been delayed.

Knox Gardens Sporting Facilities

Mr BARTON (Eastern Metropolitan) (09:41): I am pleased to rise today to congratulate Knox City Council on its innovative solution to expanding change room facilities to accommodate the increase in female participation in sports. It is great news that girls are flocking to our AFL, basketball, cricket and other sporting clubs, but the lack of change rooms means numbers often drop off as girls get sick of changing in their cars. The issue for councils now is that in order to add or to enhance the existing facilities, the entire building must be refurbished to meet the latest building standards, which in many instances blows out the costs dramatically.

In Knox they have come up with a unique solution, which I think should be applauded. Prefabricated modular change facilities are manufactured offsite then installed and finished onsite. Because they are stand-alone buildings, the huge costs of refurbishing the entire building can be delayed. Knox Gardens recently benefited from this modular solution, with many others in the area planned for construction. I applaud the council for thinking outside the box and encourage our young girls and women to continue in their sporting pursuits.

CONSTITUENCY – Speaking Out Program

Mr BARTON (Eastern Metropolitan) (15:49): My constituency question is to the Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, Minister Williams, in the other place. I wrote to Minister Williams earlier this month to share my concerns for the future of a fantastic program in the Eastern Metropolitan Region called Speaking Out, and I asked if she could commit to ongoing support for this program. Speaking Out trains and supports women who have experienced family violence or sexual assault. These women are able to share their stories with the public through media interviews, community engagements and involvement through other committees. The program has a current group of 30 women actively taking their messages out into the community. These incredibly brave women are frontline fighters for awareness and as a group take on two or three engagements each week. I ask the minister: what is her office doing to support this valuable program in eastern metropolitan Melbourne to ensure it can continue to raise awareness through first-hand accounts of the effects of family violence and sexual assault?

Transport Legislation Amendment (Better Roads Victoria and Other Amendments) Bill 2018

I rise today in support of the Transport Legislation Amendment (Better Roads Victoria and Other Amendments) Bill 2018 and its allocation of funding to regional and outer suburban communities.

AMENDMENT – car toll rates for privately registered utes and cab chassis

This amendment is about making our toll roads fairer for families. Modern utes are the new Commodore and Falcon station wagons. They are vehicles Victorian families drive and love; charging them a commercial rate just is not fair.

AMENDMENT – toll exemption for taxis, VH plates and buses

We have an opportunity here today to amend our tolling and make some impact on congestion and on the number of vehicles using all our roads. Vehicles that make up our public transport system should not be tolled. We must exclude taxis, VH-registered cars and buses from the tolls on the West Gate Tun…

QUESTION: VH Number Plates

I ask the minister to explain why VicRoads have ceased to release VH plates to hire car operators in Victoria, keeping in mind that VicRoads have reserved the plates from VHA right through to VHZ.

AMENDMENT – remove potential for future tolls on trailers

It is certainly our view that this is a stepping stone moving towards Transurban charging for trailers, caravans and boats, and if they do want to move in that direction, they should be transparent and say so.

ADJOURNMENT: Roadworthy certificate to get CPV licence

I ask the minister: will she make it compulsory for commercial passenger vehicle (CPV) licence holders to present a current roadworthy certificate and a certificate of commercial passenger vehicle insurance when registering for or renewing their commercial passenger vehicle licence?

Tolls amendment to West Gate Tunnel bill

I propose these amendments today because I wish to bring a new level of fairness to the tolling system that will be adopted when our West Gate Tunnel opens. I want us to consider what tolls on our roads are for.

MEMBERS STATEMENT: Bullying. No Way!

Mr  BARTON  (Eastern Metropolitan) (09:51:00): Last Friday schools across the country participated in a national day of action against bullying. Over 2.4 million students from 5726 schools across Australia united to spread a very powerful message. I am proud to say that many schools in my Eastern Metropolitan Region took part—there are too many to list.

Bullying is never okay. Bullying is a misuse of power. It is ongoing and repeated and it causes harm. We can all take action every day to stop it. Call it out when you see it. Stand by friends who experience it. Tell someone if it is happening to you.

Life is very different for young people today than when I was at school. They did have schools when I was that age! Our use of social media takes bullying out of the schoolyard and it follows them into their homes, into their safe places. Approximately one in five young people under 18—20 per cent—report online bullying in any one year.

I thank everyone involved in this conversation, and I encourage school communities to say, ‘Bullying. No Way!’ and take action every day.

ADJOURNMENT: Homelessness in Eastern Metro

Over 14 000 people accessed homelessness assistance services in the council areas that touch the Eastern Metropolitan Region in the last financial year.

Duplication of the Hurstbridge Rail Line

I ask the minister to expedite second-stage upgrade work on the Hurstbridge line and extend the line duplication to include sections between Montmorency and Diamond Creek.

Legislation passed to improve nurse and midwife patient ratios

I rise to express my support for the Safe Patient Care (Nurse to Patient and Midwife to Patient Ratios) Amendment Bill 2018.

Motion – review of Commercial Passenger Vehicle reforms

I am pleased to present the amendments to this motion for a number of reasons, but particularly because it is the main reason I was elected into this place and I think it is one of the most important jobs I need to do here.

Question – $1 trip levy

I want to talk about the $1 levy on all taxi and hire car trips flagged to fund the transition payments for licence-holders in the taxi and hire car industry, for the financial compensation.

Black Saturday anniversary

It grieves me to think back on the horror of the firestorms that raged through our communities just 10 years ago. For many this is a private time. We will all grieve the losses in different ways, some in public services, some with private tears. I know there are many who would prefer to forget.

Welcome new citizens

I am pleased to rise today to welcome the newest members of our community who became citizens of Australia on this previous Australia Day.