Wednesday, 9 September 2026

 Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (16:27): I rise to make a statement on tabled petition 830 on improving Western Crescent public transport links. This petition bears 193 signatures, and a paper petition of the same title bearing additional signatures was tabled today. This petition calls to the attention of the Legislative Council the critical need for improved public transport links between Geelong and Ballarat, Ballarat and Maryborough, and Maryborough and Castlemaine. Regional growing cities and the towns in between them need better connectivity. Many people may not realise that until 1978 there was actually a passenger rail service between Geelong and Ballarat. The rail line is still there, and it is active. There are trains that run along that line, but it is only used for freight. The only direct public transport option between Victoria’s two biggest regional cities is a coach that runs just three times a day, and those times are pretty impractical, if you have a look at the timetable, for anyone who is trying to commute. It is a huge handbrake on access to employment and study opportunities, access to services like health care and the potential livability of these cities and the many towns in between them.

As Geelong and Ballarat continue to grow into more significant economic and educational centres in and of themselves, there will be more and more demand for people to be able to travel between the two. It might come as a shock to people, but not everyone wants to travel into Melbourne from regional areas. Regional Victorians have been largely forgotten when it comes to investment generally by this government but particularly when it comes to public transport. Too often transport investment decisions have been cooked up in secret to win marginal seats in metro Melbourne rather than being based on genuine community need. Metro projects are dominated by things like multibillion-dollar toll road projects. We have got the North East Link, that I am not sure anyone actually wanted, and we have got the West Gate Tunnel project, which is a lovely tunnel that sits empty most of the time because no-one is actually using it, costing taxpayers an absolute fortune while private toll companies rake in huge profits. Meanwhile regional public transport services received only $481 million in the 2026–27 state budget, and that includes just $318 million for infrastructure upgrades across the entire network. Some really basic things are just crying out for much more investment.

This petition does not exist in a silo. The City of Greater Geelong Council have actually backed up our call for this train line to open. They have expressed support for restoration of passenger trains between Geelong and Ballarat. They have been calling for governments to look beyond the next election when planning the region’s transport network. They have also stated that the proposal would support anticipated population growth that is estimated to be at least another 100,000 people across Geelong’s northern and western growth areas. This is turning Geelong into a very significant second city in Victoria, and that whole stretch of population needs better public transport services.

The petition is a clear and, I think, very reasonable ask: give regional Victorians the same consideration as metropolitan commuters. We think this is actually quite low-hanging fruit. As I said, there is existing rail infrastructure there. It is working. There are freight trains on there. We do not need a big, gold-plated passenger service with fancy stations. We just need a functional passenger service between the two cities. Restoring passenger rail between Geelong and Ballarat and improving connections through to Maryborough and Castlemaine is not a nice-to-have. It is basic, necessary infrastructure to match the growth these communities are already experiencing. I thank the petitioners for their advocacy on this, and I really hope that the government heeds what they have been asking for.