I thank the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Herald Sun for bringing this forum together.
My Government is focused on building Australia’s future – and Victoria is central to this in every way.
This state represents over 20 per cent of Australia’s economy.
More than a quarter of Australia’s value-added manufacturing.
More than 700,000 small businesses.
And in so many fields, from medical research to renewable energy technology, Victoria is a global leader, not just a national one.
Victorian businesses, universities, TAFEs, research centres, cultural and sporting institutions are ambassadors for Australia.
You build and strengthen our connections to the region and the world.
Indeed, later today at Deakin University, we’re launching our Roadmap for Economic Engagement with India.
A plan to deepen and diversify our two way trade and investment with what will be the third largest economy in the world before the end of this decade.
Victoria will be front and centre in seizing these opportunities.
Of course, I recognise the state is facing challenges too.
The world has thrown a lot at Australia in recent years - and Victorians have endured more than their fair share.
Far and away the toughest economic test that all of us have faced is global inflation.
Inflation puts pressure on the cost of living and the cost of doing business.
It affects the input costs for your business, as well as the buying power of your customers.
The tail end of the Covid pandemic, combined with the international energy crisis caused by Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine led to average inflation among advanced economies reaching its highest level since the 1980s.
Australia wasn’t immune from any of these pressures.
In fact, we were more exposed than we should have been, because of years of inaction and neglect from our predecessors.
Households were already under pressure when inflation and interest rates started rising, because wages had been kept deliberately low for years.
People’s power bills were already higher than they should have been, because years of Liberal-National civil war on climate change and energy policy had put us a decade behind the world on renewables.
Australia’s place in the global supply chain was already vulnerable, because our skills and manufacturing sector had been hollowed out.
And even before the pandemic, our health system had already been pushed to breaking point by cuts to hospitals and Medicare.
From our first day in Office, we’ve been working to clear away this mess.
To rebuild the long-term drivers of growth and productivity, while tackling the immediate challenge of inflation.
At the outset, we made a deliberate choice to bring down inflation without giving up on growth, sacrificing people’s jobs or cutting their wages.
This is why Australia’s economy has continued to grow, while other nations have gone backwards.
Employment here has been strong - jobs growth in Australia has been faster than all the G7 economies.
And inflation here peaked lower and later.
When we came to Government, interest rates were going up, inflation had a 6 in front of it, and was rising.
And real wages had fallen five quarters in a row.
Now inflation has a 2 in front of it.
Annual real wages have grown, five quarters in row.
We’ve turned a $78 billion budget deficit into a $22 billion surplus – the first in nearly two decades.
We backed that up with a second surplus.
Over 1.15 million new jobs have been created, including more than 320,000 right here in Victoria.
And last Tuesday, the hard work of Australians saw the first interest rate cut since 2020.
Important relief for households – and small business.
This is the progress we’ve made together.
Inflation down.
Wages up.
Tax cuts delivered.
Unemployment low.
Debt down.
Interest rates falling.
And at the same time, we are investing in the future and building for it.
People sometimes talk about knowing the difference between what’s urgent and what’s important.
In Government, as in business, so often the urgent is important.
But you can’t allow yourself to be consumed only by the here and now.
You can’t say ‘oh we’ll get around to the future, once the present settles down’.
You can’t hold off or hang back for a moment when all is calm and quiet.
Even when you’re navigating rough seas, you’ve got to have your eyes on the horizon.
That’s why, at the same time as we are opening Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, boosting funding for public hospitals and making medicines cheaper, we are also delivering the biggest investment in Medicare and bulk-billing in Australian history.
A reform that will deliver nearly 5 million more free GP appointments for Victorians and support over 1,200 Victorian medical practices to bulk-bill every patient, every time.
At the same time as we’re working with the state government to deliver Energy Bill Relief to every Victorian household and small business, we’re building the renewable energy that will get prices down and keep them down into the future.
At the same as time as we’re boosting Rent Assistance, we’re building more homes.
At same time as we’re making child care cheaper, Free TAFE permanent and cutting student debt, we’re opening new university hubs in Broadmeadows, Epping, Melton, Swan Hill and Gippsland.
Taking the opportunity of higher education to suburbs and regional communities that have been overlooked for too long.
And, under the agreement we signed with the Victorian Government last month, every public school in the Education State will be funded to the national student resourcing standard.
David Gonski’s landmark review set that standard 14 years ago: the level of funding that every school and every student should receive to get the best possible education.
As a nation, we’ve never achieved it.
Now, under this agreement, Victorian students will get the resources they deserve and the school system will get the reform it needs.
And we are bringing this same approach to infrastructure.
Practical, immediate action.
Fast-tracking more homes in the regions and suburbs with new incentives to speed-up planning.
As well as new funding to connect the power, water and service roads that are essential for construction.
We’re supporting local councils to upgrade community facilities.
And we’re also investing in the big nation-building, state-shaping projects.
I’m a former Infrastructure Minister – and an ongoing infrastructure nerd.
I love it, because it’s real.
It’s a tangible, visible, enduring way that good government can make a positive difference to people’s lives.
Building and upgrading roads and rail, ports, airports, broadband – this creates jobs, boosts productivity and drives economic growth.
It brings new life to our cities, connects our regions and suburbs.
It makes it easier for Australian businesses and farmers to get their great products to market – here and around the world.
And it strengthens communities, it makes them better and safer places to live.
I created Infrastructure Australia 17 years ago because I wanted governments to be able to make informed choices about which projects would make the biggest difference and deliver the biggest benefit.
I also made sure Infrastructure Australia was established as an independent, expert body.
Applying commercial rigour to its assessments.
Because I understood that while infrastructure projects can show the best of government, they can also bring out the worst of politics.
Project timelines are long and election cycles are short.
That means there will always be some who stress about the costs and inconvenience while projects are under construction.
It takes true leadership and real commitment to look beyond that.
That’s what the Victorian Government has done with the West Gate Tunnel and in particular the Metro Tunnel.
My support for the Metro Tunnel goes back a long way.
When I was Infrastructure Minister, we committed $3 billion to the project.
On the original timetable, trains would be running through the Metro Tunnel already.
Some of you would have travelled on it here today.
But when Tony Abbott won the election, he cut the funding.
It is a huge credit to the Victorian Government that it held firm and took full responsibility for finishing the job through a decade when it was starved of Federal funding.
And I know that in a matter of months now, when the Metro Tunnel is open, Melburnians will absolutely love it.
It will change the way public transport works for the better – overnight.
And it will shape the city for generations to come.
It will drive productivity and deliver better and faster services to the CBD and the suburbs.
The 84 level crossings that have been removed in the last 10 years have saved Victorian drivers tens of thousands of hours they would have spent waiting at the boom gates.
They’ve given communities new public space to use and enjoy.
Metro Tunnel will unlock the next level of benefit for rail users, clearing the bottleneck at the city loop and enabling more trains to run more often.
Suburban Rail Loop East will bring benefits on this same scale.
It will connect new housing and growing business precincts like Box Hill and Clayton, with great public transport.
And it will finally deliver a station for Monash University.
Our Government has contributed $2.2 billion to the early works, which are now underway.
Suburban Rail Loop East is a missing link in Melbourne’s transport network.
North-East link is another - connecting the M80 ring road with the Eastern Freeway.
In last year’s Budget, we put in a further $3.25 billion for this project, taking our total investment to $5 billion.
I’ve been on the site at Watsonia and seen the extraordinary scale of the work.
The benefits will be even bigger.
This project will cut up to 35 minutes off the journey from Melbourne’s north to the south east and vice versa.
And, like all good projects, it will benefit the communities surrounding it as well.
The North East Link will mean 15,000 trucks off local roads every day.
Safer, less congested suburban streets – and less wear and tear on local roads.
Of course whenever we talk about missing links in Melbourne infrastructure, the conversation goes to airport rail.
This vital project – in all its various incarnations – has been delayed for far too long.
I am sure there are editions of the Herald Sun dating back 20 and 30 years talking about the urgent need for a train to Tullamarine.
It’s easy to point to the expense or the difficulty.
But I’ll give you the big tip – putting it off hasn’t made it any cheaper or easier.
And I think everyone here would agree that airport rail is essential for a great global city like Melbourne.
This time last year Melbourne hosted the 50 year anniversary of Australia’s partnership with ASEAN.
A gathering of 11 national leaders from the fastest growing region of the world in human history and all their delegations, together with business leaders and civil society.
This city was a magnificent venue, because it showcases so much that is great about Australia.
People come from all over the world to experience Victorian food, fashion, culture, innovation and – of course - sport.
And the first impression that visitors and tourists have on arrival, their trip into the city, should match the great experience they will have for the rest of their time in this great state.
All of that goes double for Victorians.
Whether you’re going on holiday, or travelling for work, getting to and from the airport shouldn’t be the most complicated part of your trip.
It should be affordable, convenient – and the travel time should be predictable.
Melbourne Airport needs a rail link. Melbourne needs one. And Victorians deserve one.
Today, as Prime Minister, I give this straightforward, concrete commitment to all Victorians.
Our Government will partner with the Victorian Government to fund and build a rail link to Melbourne Airport.
And we will do it in a way that delivers maximum benefit for people in Melbourne’s west and north.
To make this happen, our Labor Government is committing $7 billion to build Melbourne Airport Rail - the next important step in Suburban Rail Loop.
This includes our existing $5 billion to build the rail line to Tullamarine.
Funding that will build the track, as well as the bridge and signalling improvements to deliver future upgrades to service Melbourne’s north and west.
On top of this, we will invest a further $2 billion to help transform Sunshine station.
And the Victorian Government will bring forward their funding to kick start work.
Building the extra platforms and a dedicated spur line that will make Sunshine Station the hub for regional rail services connecting to the airport.
So if you’re from Ballarat, like our Minister for Infrastructure, Catherine King.
Or Bendigo, like the Premier.
Or Geelong, or Waurn Ponds.
If you are travelling from regional Victoria, you don’t have to catch a train all the way into Southern Cross and then back out to Tullamarine.
Instead, your V-line service will be able take you to Sunshine, then express to the terminal.
And in addition to the $7 billion we are committing to this project, we will also begin work to enable the electrification of the Melton Line.
This is a vital part of delivering better rail services for people in the west going to work, not just the airport.
And let me be clear: we are locking in this investment now, because we want to lock in a start date.
We are proud to be partnering with the Victorian Government to deliver these missing links for Melbourne infrastructure.
These will be transformative projects for the south east, the north and the west.
At the same time, I know there are parts of Melbourne that need urgent work, here and now.
I want to make it clear – even as we build these missing links around the city, local suburbs won’t miss out.
Today I announce we are launching a $1.2 billion Suburban Road Blitz, in partnership with the Victorian Government.
This money is ready, right now, to fix roads in need of repair.
To seal and upgrade roads that are slowing communities down – and to tackle dangerous intersections.
Because smaller projects can deliver big productivity gains and make a big difference to communities.
The first three projects in this blitz will be:
Sealing and upgrading Old Sydney Road where it connects with Cameron’s Lane, supporting the growth and new jobs being created by work on the Beveridge Intermodal Terminal.
We will also partner with the Victorian Government to upgrade the intersection of McLeod Road and Station Street in Carrum.
And Evans Road between Duff Street and Central Parkway in Cranbourne West.
These are three important projects – but they are only the first three.
There will be more to come, in suburbs and regions that need this investment the most.
Building Victoria’s future, building Australia’s future is about building this vital infrastructure, up and down the scale and across our suburbs and regions.
It’s about building more new homes and more renewable energy.
It’s about finishing the NBN with fibre, not copper – and keeping it in public hands.
And building Australia’s future is always about more than bricks and mortar.
It’s about the foundation of a strong economy – where wages and productivity and living standards grow together.
It’s about delivering on the purpose and promise of Medicare, so people can find a bulk-billing doctor and see a GP for free.
Wherever they live.
Investing in every stage of education – Cheaper Child Care, better schools, Free TAFE and greater access to university.
Backing small business and local manufacturing, investing in the skills, energy and incentives that will ensure Victoria can continue to compete and succeed in the world.
Global uncertainty has presented our nation with significant challenges over the past few years.
Australians – and Victorians – have shown extraordinary resilience and great determination.
The reward for all this hard work is now in reach.
Because when you look at the world today, when you think about what will define and shape the economy in the decades ahead.
There is nowhere else you’d rather be than Australia.
There is no other nation that can match our combination of strengths: our natural resources, our space, our universities and TAFEs, our superannuation system and its investment power, our stable democracy, our diaspora communities that give us a family connection with every nation on earth.
And our greatest strength is – and always will – be our people.
The courage, kindness, aspiration and determination of the Australian people is the great story of our history.
It is the continuing inspiration of our present.
And it is the very best reason for all of us to be optimistic about the future of Victoria and Australia.