Mr J. BULL (Sunbury) — Thank you, Acting Speaker; it is good to be back. I am extremely pleased to rise to contribute to the debate on the Infrastructure Victoria Bill 2015. This is an exciting bill. It is a bill that fulfils our election commitment to establishing an independent statutory authority to make recommendations to government on the most important infrastructure needs of our state.

I want to pick up on a comment by the member for Warrandyte. He said, ‘Why bother?’. This government bothers because its members care and because they know that key infrastructure must be free from political deadlock. I have listened intently to this debate and to the contributions of many members in the house. Members have articulated well how much community support that infrastructure separated from political deadlock has had. We know that Victorians want infrastructure that should not hinge on political cycles. We know that Victorians want infrastructure that is long term, that is visionary and that is good for the state. We know that Victorians want infrastructure — in transport, roads and health — long-term projects that generate jobs, get them from A to B quicker and look after their families. That is what this government and those on this side of the house know. We are getting on with it; we are getting on with the job. We are a government that is doing what we said we would do.

Victoria is growing — with new towns, new developments and new communities — and with this comes new demands on services and infrastructure and new needs for planning. Victoria needs a system of prioritising, planning and developing infrastructure that is free from politics, is transparent, is objective and takes into account cost-benefit ratios.

Victorians are sick and tired of these key infrastructure projects being politicised, and there is no greater example of this than the east–west link, a dud project that the former government signed at the 11th hour, a project that would have cost $10.7 billion and lost 55 cents for every dollar wasted in investment. The east–west link was a disaster from start to finish. It took the election of a Labor government to stop it. It was such a financial disaster that the Liberals were secretly planning to toll every freeway in Melbourne just to cover up their $2.1 million black hole.

Victoria needs an independent organisation that can objectively look at projects and make decisions that are in the best interests of all Victorians over the short, medium and long terms. I am proud of this government and the fact that this bill will establish Infrastructure Victoria, which will use evidence and be transparent. Infrastructure Victoria will consult widely and consider the needs of the whole state. It will prioritise projects that deliver results and drive new jobs — jobs that are so important for families. Most importantly, it will help governments plan for the future and make better decisions.

When you are out talking to members of the community, it is very clear that they are sick and tired of the two-dogs-barking political approach to infrastructure. They want to know that their hard-earnt tax dollars are going to be put to good use. They want to know that these projects are what the state needs, and they want to know that the government taking on board these independent recommendations means it is listening.

Let us look at what Infrastructure Victoria will do. Infrastructure Victoria will have the key responsibility for strategic planning. It will be the responsibility of Infrastructure Victoria to establish an ongoing 30-year infrastructure strategy that outlines the state’s needs and priorities. This will include a pipeline of recommended projects that respond to the emerging needs and pressures across our economy, environment and community. From the 30-year long-term visionary planning process, the government will be required to establish a 5-year plan and a response outlining the government’s plans, using the long-term plan as a guide to help shape the response.

These projects do not just come out of thin air; they come from research. Infrastructure Victoria will be a powerhouse of research in the strategic planning area, adding an independent voice to the community-wide debate on these issues. This will take into account modelling. This will take into account community consultation, and, as has always been said, you must take the community with you on such projects.

Key aspects of Infrastructure Victoria include independence and transparency. Infrastructure Victoria will publicly release and regularly update the 30-year strategy. We know that the independence and transparency of Infrastructure Victoria’s planning, advice and publications will be paramount. Its establishment is a key step in removing the backroom, closed-door style of planning that has gone on before now, putting our state’s needs first and out in the open, free from political interference. This organisation will be truly independent and transparent, ensuring only the best outcomes for Victoria.

The analytical work of Infrastructure Victoria will focus on three key areas, providing a broad cross-sectoral analysis of social, economic and environmental needs and concerns. Through this analysis and using its expertise, Infrastructure Victoria’s recommendations will cover not only new developments and infrastructure but also options to better use existing infrastructure though operational improvements and changes, including advances in technology. It is things like extensive engagement, and it is things like looking at social, economic and environmental needs.

What Victorians do not want is a government and a Parliament that simply argues its way through year after year and ends up with a situation like we had last year. All members of the house would be in agreement that we do not want to see that for our state. We need to be better than that. We need to plan long term, because the reality is that if we do not, we will not be able to keep up with demand. I heard the member for Macedon talk about population growth, and that is certainly something I am going to see in my electorate over many years from here on in. We know that Victoria is a great place to live, and we want to ensure that it remains a great place to live. We know that Melbourne is an incredibly populous city — one of the fastest growing cities in the nation — and we need to ensure that we continue to provide infrastructure that supports that growth.

I am proud of this bill, and I believe in Infrastructure Victoria. I am certainly hopeful that we will be standing here in 10, 20 or 30 years time, saying, ‘Wasn’t it fantastic to have a government with a vision for the future, a government that created Infrastructure Victoria? We have projects that are a result of recommendations from Infrastructure Victoria’. I certainly believe this bill will do that, and I commend the Premier on his vision in this bill.

It must be noted that when we look across the nation — and I have spoken briefly about other states and jurisdictions — we see that this bill is groundbreaking, although we know that there are similar bodies to Infrastructure Victoria elsewhere, such as Infrastructure New South Wales, the proposed Building Queensland statutory body or Infrastructure Australia. None of these, however, I would argue have the transparency, depth of analysis, independence from political interference or wide-ranging engagement that Infrastructure Victoria will have.

I have heard honourable members mention the composition of the board. We know that we will have four appointed directors, including the chair and deputy chair, from private and non-government sectors, who will be appointed based on their knowledge or experience of policy and strategy or infrastructure planning, funding and delivery. On top of that, there will be three statutory directors from the public sector — the Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Secretary of the Department of Treasury and Finance and the secretary responsible to the Minister for Planning.

Infrastructure Victoria is a body that will be a respected guide for our state and for our communities and their growing needs. Its recommendations will be evidence based. It will be fully transparent and fully open. It will make recommendations around projects that will ensure that our state remains the best place to live, work, visit and do business. I look forward to the creation of Infrastructure Victoria, and I am excited by the prospect of having such a body to make recommendations to the state. I very happily commend the bill to the house.