STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Ms JORDAN-BAIRD (Gorton) (13:37): If you find yourself driving along the Calder Freeway in Melbourne's north-west, you'll pass a turn off to Calder Park drive. That interchange connects our community with the rest of Melbourne and on to the Macedon Ranges. Thousands of locals use that interchange every single day, and for these people commuting to and from work it means dealing with a dangerous U-turn onto the busy Calder Freeway, having to quickly match the speed of oncoming traffic.

More people on our roads is a symptom of our community's growth. But, as our community grows, the infrastructure simply needs to keep up. That's why last year, along with the minister for infrastructure and transport and members for Hawke and McEwen, we announced $300 million towards the Calder Park Drive interchange project.

And just last week I announced an update to the project's scope. This project will deliver a full diamond interchange by raising the freeway over Calder Park Drive. This will significantly improve safety, and it will mean increasing the speed limit over the interchange to 100 kilometres per hour.

That's not all we're doing. We're investing a $1 billion upgrade into the Western Freeway between Caroline Springs and Melton. I'm so excited to announce that our recent budget draws down on $50 million to get pre-construction under way on this much needed upgrade.

More lanes and better interchanges—our community is crying out for this. This isn't just about transport; it's also about fairness. For too long, westies have been left behind, and it's this Labor government that understands— (Time expired)