Mr  J. BULL (Sunbury) — It is always a pleasure to follow story time with the member for Kew. I grieve for those opposite, those members who for four long years had the greatest gift that the people of Victoria could give — government — and did absolutely nothing, not a single thing. I grieve for all those jobs that were not created as a result of the four years of inaction from those opposite. I grieve further because they come into this place week in, week out thinking that they are still in government, and the member for Kew just demonstrated that. They lecture us about what should be done and what they would have done. They look back on those four years they occupied the government benches, those long, dark, wasted years when they did not do a thing. This government has done more in two years than those opposite could have ever dreamed of doing in four.

You do not have to look far and you do not have to talk to many people to find out where the problems started. In conversations with constituents, business, the private sector, the education sector and the construction sector you continue to hear the same message — that you could not simply meet with them. Their ministers were too busy; ministers did not want to know them. They never engaged and never took the time to listen to people from all walks of life, and this resulted in a do-nothing government. No-one could see them; they simply vanished. It was a government paralysed by inaction. In November 2014 the people of Victoria sent a very strong message, a powerful message, that they wanted a government that would put people first. Two years on, this government is getting on with putting people first after four years of such inaction.

This afternoon I am very keen to talk about the last two years from both the local and state perspectives. I am incredibly proud of all of the work that has been done both locally and right across the state from those on this side of the house. I do, however, want to pick up on one point. The member for Kew, who spoke before, mentioned the Jon Faine radio program. Towards the end of December last year there was a segment when Jon Faine had listeners actually ringing the radio station discussing whether the Andrews government was doing too much. Were there too many projects on the go in this state, and was construction causing too much disruption?

Mr T. Bull interjected.

Mr J. BULL — Possibly.

This is an incredible scenario. We had four years of nothing. We on this side of the house understand that there is significant disruption caused by major infrastructure projects. We certainly apologise for the delays, but we do not apologise for the projects themselves, because these are important projects. They are job-generating projects. They are projects that pay mortgages, that pay bills and that put food on the tables of hardworking Victorians, and they are projects that will set this state up for a very long time. The previous Liberal government did not start a single major public transport project, leaving Victorian passengers stranded on crowded trains and clogged roads.

Ms Thomas interjected.

Mr J. BULL — They were. Certainly they made some significant announcements, member for Macedon, on airport rail, which is obviously very important — —

Mr Nardella interjected.

Mr J. BULL — Airport rail, member for Melton — a very important project in my electorate and certainly something that I will advocate very strongly for.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Ms Ryall) — Order! Without assistance, thank you, member for Melton.

Mr J. BULL — But as we have heard from the member for Melton and the member for Macedon — —

Mr McGuire interjected.

Mr J. BULL — Was it platform 9¾ at the airport? You get off your Jetstar flight and push your trolley into the wall, although unlike what happens with platform 9¾, you actually bounce off the wall, the same way those opposite bounced off the election result — very, very poorly. In stark contrast, this government is delivering the biggest investment in transport in Victoria’s history, including the Metro Tunnel; the removal of 50 of the worst level crossings, 10 of which are already gone; and 100 new trains and trams.

I wanted to talk about one of Australia’s most important infrastructure projects, the Metro Tunnel. Cast your minds for just one second back to the 1960s and 1970s and imagine what Melbourne would look like without the city loop. I can see the member for Frankston is pondering that question. How would we function, and what would it look like? How would thousands of Victorians get in and out of the city each day without the loop? Then imagine for a second that in the 1970s — —

Ms Victoria — You guys opposed it.

Mr J. BULL — I take up the interjection of the member for Bayswater. I cannot say I was here at the time.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Ms Ryall) — Order! Do not take up interjections, member for Sunbury.

Mr J. BULL — Well, there were some opposing what went on yesterday, and I will get to that in a second.

Mr Edbrooke interjected.

Mr J. BULL — I am not going to go back that far, because I was not born then. The 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan was adopted, and from 1981 through to 1985 the loop progressively opened. I know the member for Bayswater is very keen to hear that. The problem we see, and the problem we have certainly experienced this week, is the opposition of those opposite.

Just yesterday in the upper house they put forward a motion to block the $10.9 billion Melbourne Metro rail project. They want to see it abandoned, putting thousands of Victorian jobs at risk. What an utter disgrace. This is nothing but an obstructionist, negative and divisive stunt. It follows a failed attempt by the opposition last year, as we know, to stop the removal of nine of Victoria’s worst level crossings on Melbourne’s busiest line, again not for jobs, not for safety but for themselves.

Mr Dimopoulos — Politics.

Mr J. BULL — And for politics, member for Oakleigh. After four years of doing nothing, can you believe it? They are now trying to stop the most important infrastructure project in the nation. This is a vital project for the state and vital for my community in Sunbury, with a direct connection of the Sunbury line to the Cranbourne-Pakenham line. We know that this project will free up much-needed space in the city loop to run more trains more often across Melbourne. It will mean less crowding and less waiting, with room for 39 000 more passengers during the morning peak.

Mr Edbrooke — How many?

Mr J. BULL — Thirty-nine thousand more passengers during the peak, member for Frankston. It will not be station 9¾, I inform the member for Broadmeadows; these will be real stations — five of them. There will be real connections where you will be able to actually get off. They will not be mythical; there will not be any wand needed — —

Mr McGuire — You will actually get to your destination.

Mr J. BULL — You will get to your destination. There will be two 9-kilometre tunnels, five new stations — Arden, Parkville, CBD North, CBD South and of course Domain — and direct connections between the Metro Tunnel and of course the city loop. We are not wasting a single day in getting this project done, and those opposite should hang their heads in shame and explain to hardworking Victorians why they refuse to create jobs, as they did for four long, lonely, miserable, dark years in government. We have provided every single dollar to deliver this project, fully funded in the 2016–17 budget, and of course we have signed the environment effects statement and early works are happening across Melbourne.

There are 100 utilities — water, gas and power, and a massive 120-year-old sewer is being relocated and protected. Construction crews will dig 11 storeys below the ground to construct the new station below Swanston Street. This, as I mentioned earlier, will mean significant disruption to the CBD, but we must do it now and this government is doing it now. A giant shaft will be excavated at City Square near Flinders Street station to build the new CBD South station, and these shafts, as I have heard other members mention this afternoon, will excavate around 2 million cubic metres of solid rock and soil, enough to fill 800 Olympic-size swimming pools, so this is a significant dig.

I want to talk about the job elements of the project for just a minute. This, to me, is not just the congestion-busting element of the project but the number of jobs that this project will create — —

Mr Dimopoulos — It will transform families.

Mr J. BULL — It will transform families, as the member for Oakleigh says. It will put food on people’s tables, pay mortgages, upskill new apprentices and do the things this government believes in and that we know Victorians believe in. We know that our Local Jobs First policy will ensure that of this project, 88 per cent of Melbourne Metro will be sourced locally, and I can see that the minister is incredibly excited about this, with more commitments to come on future works. The major projects skills guarantee will create 100 opportunities, including 14 apprentices, five retained, nine new; 62 trainees, 18 retained and 44 new; and 24 engineering cadets, eight retained and 16 new.

When I was growing up I was very fortunate that my father was a surveyor and worked on many of the key water infrastructure projects around Sunbury — Rosslynne, Merrimu — and was lucky enough to work overseas for two years in Indonesia on a very important project in Medan. The family picked up and moved from Sunbury to Medan, where we lived for two years. I often look back at that project and think that it was, in many ways, the making of our family. Dad had an opportunity to learn new skills so that he was able to support his family. If you are to factor in just that experience and multiply it by the close to 5000 jobs that this project will create, I do not understand how — or why, for that matter — you would stand in the way of such an exciting, important project.

A section of Domain Road will close, and St Kilda Road will be reconfigured to just one lane. Certainly, as I mentioned before, there is significant disruption. The years of disruption though will be nothing compared to the decades of benefits that this project will bring. One of the great elements, I think, of being a member — one of the real highlights in this job — is being able to speak to people at street stalls. I often have a regular street stall out the front of the Sunbury train station. When you are speaking to local residents about the metro project, often they will know of the project but will want a little bit more detail about it. When you go into the fact that from the Sunbury line they will be able to get direct access into the Parkville precinct, direct access into the Melbourne University precinct and direct access straight through the CBD to those new stations, they are excited.

Ms Thomas interjected.

Mr J. BULL — This is absolutely awesome, I agree with the member for Macedon. I have not touched on a whole raft of significant infrastructure projects that we are getting on with and delivering — the Tullamarine widening project, the western distributor project, the Monash upgrade of course, the Western Ring Road upgrade, plus literally hundreds of projects which will create thousands of jobs right across the state.

If we go to jobs, the Victorian unemployment rate was 6 per cent in December 2016 and our participation rate was 65.9 per cent, 1.2 per cent higher than the national average. Victorian unemployment is down 0.6 per cent since this government came to office, and close to 200 000 jobs have been created since we came to government. That is significant. The Andrews government has created over 120 000 full-time jobs since November 2014, and that is what this government is all about; making sure that we continue the pipeline of projects, the pipeline of work, to create jobs, manage congestion and ensure that we continue to be the most livable state in the nation.

I am extremely proud to be able to be part of a government that will, at each and every opportunity, put people first and ensure these projects go ahead, whether they are small projects in a member’s electorate or the significant projects — Melbourne Metro, the Tullamarine widening, the western distributor, the Monash upgrade, the Western Ring Road, all of the projects that we know are important for the state and that reduce congestion, deliver jobs and do all the things that we know are important for the people of Victoria.

If I can finish where I started and look back at the legacy of those opposite, it is very disappointing. For four years there was not a single significant infrastructure project — not one. We have heard about the airport rail. As an important project in my electorate, I am yet to see it. I did see the mythical station. I saw the glossy flyers — they were very nice. I think they said, ‘Airport rail is coming’. I do not know what happened to it, but it just fell off the radar.

Those on this side of the house — the member for Oakleigh, the member for Broadmeadows, the member for Melton, the members for Frankston and Macedon, the member for Yuroke, certainly the member for Thomastown and of course the lead minister, the Minister for Industry and Employment, the very hardworking member for Williamstown — are all committed to their electorates, but they are committed to each and every Victorian to make sure that we continue to put people first.