ADJOURNMENT

Mr BIRRELL (Nicholls) (19:50): I am so pleased to inform the House and everyone that later this month the great city of Shepparton in the great area of the Goulburn Valley in what will soon again be the great state of Victoria will be receiving nine passenger rail return services between Melbourne and Shepparton. That came from five services, which was manifestly unacceptable for a city the size of Shepparton.

This has taken a long time to get right. The Shepparton rail revival was never just about trains. It was always about ensuring that a growing regional city with some of the greatest industry in the world—food processing, manufacturing, farming—receives the same opportunities and connectivity as other major regional centres.

Better rail means better access to jobs, education, health care and opportunities across the Goulburn Valley. The project happened for a number of reasons. Firstly, it happened because the community refused to accept being left behind and the substandard rail that was being delivered.

For years local residents, businesses, community organisations and advocates, including the Committee for Greater Shepparton, of which I was the CEO at the time, played a key role in making sure everyone who had some power knew what needed to be done and was encouraged to do it. There was a first step in 2017 with Victorian government funding and a $10 million federal coalition commitment to improve the rail line.

That got the line better. But the real game-changer was stage 3. Stage 3 set the line up to be able to take those extra trains with passing loops and signalling upgrades.

Stage 3 was a $400 million project, and the coalition government, led by the member for Riverina when he was the Deputy Prime Minister, committed 80 per cent of the funding—$320 million. Now, just for those who are interested in federal-state infrastructure funding, that was 80 per cent from the federal government. This government wants to reduce that to 50 per cent for these infrastructure projects.

That means that, because of the state of the finances, particularly in states like Victoria, nothing will be built. That funding announcement by my colleague the member for Riverina, the then deputy prime minister—when he was at that dispatch box, he even mentioned my advocacy; it was a great thrill for me to be mentioned in this place before I got in here—meant that the project could go ahead.

There were some delays because, frankly, delays are a part of what the current Victorian government does. The Victorian government promised, with that funding that was announced in 2020, that the project would be finished in the last quarter of 2023. Well, here I am in August 2026 saying we've finally got it done and it's about to happen.

There's a lesson there that state governments can do a lot better than the current Victorian government when delivering projects on time. The federal coalition's role was key in unlocking this project and making it happen. I want to thank the previous coalition government and the former deputy prime minister, who sits beside me right now.

That is what happens when you have a government that cares about Australia's regional growth and is prepared to fund the infrastructure that makes that regional growth happen. Productivity benefits. The people, the professionals, who will now move to the Goulburn Valley because there is that extra rail service will mean more doctors and more agricultural professionals.

It'll grow our industry and provide a much better service and lifestyle for the people of Shepparton and the Goulburn Valley, because they'll have access to what will soon again be, when the coalition wins in November, the great City of Melbourne. In closing, we should thank everyone who has fought for this outcome. There are a lot of community campaigners, members of parliament, the Greater Shepparton City Council, local businesses and the rail users who refused to accept what was substandard who we should thank.

When you come up here and you're an advocate, it's great to have someone listen to you. It's really good to get. My predecessor Damian Drum, the former member for Nicholls, got me in the door to see the Deputy Prime Minister—a good Dockers man.

Damian Drum got me in to see Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack. It's great to be listened to, but, jeez, it's amazing when the person who you advocate to goes into parliament and actually gets something done, and the people of Shepparton will thank that government for this.