Coalition policy sets up a clash with the Allan government on Suburban Rail Loop

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has made the bold call to scrap a key Albanese government promise, if he wins the election.

Peter Dutton will scrap ­Anthony Albanese’s commitment of $2.2bn to the Suburban Rail Loop if he is elected, as well as the extra $2bn the Prime Minister promised in February for the upgrade of Sunshine Station.

Instead, the Opposition Leader will announce on Tuesday he plans to redirect $4.2bn earmarked for Victoria to other road and rail projects, including $1.5bn for Melbourne Airport Rail.

The bold move, which the Coalition hopes will help its plans to win a swag of seats in suburban Melbourne, will also set up a clash with the Allan government, which is staking its political future on its $34.5bn stage one of the loop between Cheltenham and Box Hill.

In February, federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King announced her department had finally ticked off on $2.2bn federal Labor promised towards the SRL before it was elected in 2022.

The promised $2.2bn federal commitment for the SRL would be scrapped if Peter Dutton wins the election.

But late last month it was ­revealed the nation’s peak ­infrastructure body Infrastructure Australia had warned cost blowouts brought the viability of the project into question and urged the Victorian government to develop an exit strategy.

On Monday, Mr Dutton said the decision to scrap the federal government’s contribution to the SRL, which he called “an unfunded, cruel hoax of a project”, had been driven by the assessments of the bureaucrats.

“We have listened and acted on Infrastructure Australia’s damning assessment of the Suburban Rail Loop, a project that everyone knows would never be delivered,” he said.

In contrast, Melbourne’s Airport Rail Link was a long overdue piece of transport infrastructure vital to the future growth of Melbourne, he said.

Peter Dutton labelled the rail loop an ‘unfunded, cruel hoax of a project’. Picture: Thomas Lisson

“Delivering an efficient rail connection for urban and regional passengers to the airport will be a transformative investment in the future of Melbourne and Victoria.”

Under Mr Dutton’s proposal, a Coalition government would provide an extra $1.5bn for Melbourne Airport Rail – taking the total federal contribution to $6.5bn, which is half the project’s estimated cost of $13bn.

This new federal contribution will be matched by a commitment of an extra $1.5bn from Brad Battin and the state Liberals if they are elected to power in Victoria in November next year.

Mr Dutton said under his government Victoria would not be worse off due to his cancelling the money the Albanese government had committed to the SRL and the Sunshine Station upgrade.

A Coalition government would provide an extra $1.5bn for Melbourne Airport Rail.

“A Dutton Coalition government will reinvest every dollar of the $4.2bn of federal funding for SRL and SRL Sunshine Station into other Victorian road and rail projects, like extending the Frankston line to Langwarrin and Baxter, and duplicating Donnybrook Rd, and planning for the extension of the Upfield line in Melbourne’s north,” he said.

The Donnybrook Rd project the Opposition Leader ­referred to is in Kalkallo, in the electorate of McEwen, where the Liberals are looking to unseat veteran Labor MP Rob Mitchell. Last week the Albanese and Allan governments announced $125m for the project.

On Tuesday, the Opposition Leader will also announce he will put another $67m towards the road project if he is elected next month.

The Coalition has also committed a further $50m to deliver individual plans for public transport options in Melbourne’s east and west that will be developed in collaboration with local councils.

Originally published as Coalition policy sets up a clash with the Allan government on Suburban Rail Loop