MR PALLAS (Werribee—Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Trade) (14:33):

I rise to update the house on the economic and state-shaping benefits of the Suburban Rail Loop. The SRL will transform our transport network, it will alleviate congestion, it will deliver an estimated $58.7 billion in productivity and economic benefits to the state and it will return $1.70 for every dollar invested.

In their desperate efforts to claw back some political relevance, those opposite ignore the huge opportunity cost of not delivering this state-forming infrastructure. No other global city has a dependence upon the spoke-and-hub-type arrangement that Melbourne has, and we need to see it addressed. It will throttle the productivity of the state, it will dampen prosperity and it will deny growth opportunities for the state. There is no reason why our economy is being impeded, other than those opposite continuing to talk down its growth. We are running 50 per cent faster in productive growth than the rest of the nation. It is the same reason why our unemployment rate is now 3.1 per cent. Remember, it is 3.6 percentage points lower than what we inherited from those opposite and it is the lowest unemployment rate in the nation. SRL east and north will create an expected 23 900 jobs across the economy during construction, and the precincts that it creates will be home to more than half a million jobs by 2056. There is a great honour in being in government. It is about making decisions that affect the prosperity and the wellbeing of the community. We have been able to demonstrate that as a government by growing our economy and growing opportunities.