Questions raised over the true cost of Labor’s toll cap promise

A key Labor election promise has been put under the microscope, and it’s been revealed it may cost a Labor government three times more than they had budgeted for.

Capping toll spending at $60 per week could cost almost half a billion dollars over two years – more than three times the ALP’s estimate.

That’s according to NSW government analysis, conducted before caretaker protocols were in place, which estimated the total cost could come to $485 million.

Labor Leader Chris Minns could also face a further blowout in the cost of his signature cost of living measure if it leads to more people using toll roads, or if it encourages more households to add multiple tags to a single account.

When Labor announced its toll cap policy last month, it was estimated to cost $147 million over two years, benefiting 51,000 drivers in any given week.

But government analysis suggested the cost could be more than three times that, when taking into account the number of toll accounts which have more than one tag, the yearly increase in tolls, and the 1.5 million accounts associated with Linkt, Transurban’s e-tag tolling brand.

Questions have been raised over Chris Minns’ road toll policy. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard.

Labor Roads spokesman John Graham confirmed last month that the toll cap would be calculated based on a toll “account,” even if there are multiple cars or tags.

That means that if a husband and wife each had their own car and tag registered with the one account, they would pay a maximum of $30 each in tolls per week.

Government sources claimed the 630,000 E-Toll accounts with more than one tag could dramatically increase the cost of Labor’s policy.

Mr Graham indicated that any increase in the number of multiple-tag accounts could become a “problem” for the policy.

“We’ve got to watch that carefully,” he said in February.

“We’ve made it clear to the PBO (parliamentary budget office) that this will be closely audited and we’ve reserved the right to place restrictions on the number of vehicles per account if it starts to become a problem.

The government believe Labor’s toll policy will actually cost almost $500 million.

“We wouldn’t want to see major changes in the number of vehicles per account.”

Metropolitan Roads Minister Natalie Ward yesterday claimed Labor’s toll cap is “further proof that Labor will blow the budget”.

“Yet again, Labor have shown that they’re not fit to run our state, with their long awaited toll scheme grossly under costed and set to blow a $485 million hole in the budget,” she said.

“This is just another example of how Chris Minns will take NSW backwards, seeking out cheap headlines without doing the work properly, at a cost to every single person in our state.”

Labor declined to provide specific details on what assumptions were used to cost their policy.

However, a spokeswoman said that its costings had been prepared by the “independent parliamentary budget office (PBO)”.

“The PBO consults with the Department of Transport to make these determinations around costings. Unfortunately the Government is choosing to be political – and their claim lacks credibility.

“Labor’s plan for toll relief of $60 per week is comprehensive, independently costed and critical because Dominic Perrottet’s obsession with selling off toll roads means Sydney is the most tolled city on the fact of the earth.”