Jacinta Allan vows to push on with Suburban Rail Loop despite Peter Dutton’s de-funding pledge

Jacinta Allan has vowed to push ahead with Suburban Rail Loop, but can’t say where the Commonwealth’s share of funding would come from if Peter Dutton is elected PM.

Jacinta Allan has vowed to proceed with the contentious Suburban Rail Loop despite Peter Dutton’s pledge to pull funding.

But the Premier has repeatedly dodged questions on how she plans to stump up the $34.5bn for the first stage of the project if there is no Commonwealth funding.

The government has also refused to say whether they will sign Victorians up to more Suburban Rail Loop contracts before next month’s federal election.

It comes after the federal opposition leader on Monday night announced that he will scrap Anthony Albanese’s $2.2bn commitment to the Suburban Rail Loop if elected.

Mr Dutton will instead redirect $4.2bn earmarked for Victoria to other road and rail projects, including $1.5bn for Melbourne Airport Rail.

The Allan government is banking on the Commonwealth to stump up one third of the first stage of the loop between Cheltenham and Box Hill.

Premier Jacinta Allan labelled Peter Dutton’s threat to SRL as “hypothetical”. Picture: David Crosling

Speaking outside parliament on Tuesday, Ms Allan slammed Mr Dutton’s election pledge but wouldn’t say how she planned to fund the project if Peter Dutton becomes Prime Minister.

“That’s a hypothetical,” she said.

“It’s April Fools’ Day but Peter Dutton’s cuts are no laughing matter.

“You simply cannot trust Peter Dutton and the Liberals when it comes to properly funding and investing into infrastructure projects here in Victoria.”

Ms Allan said the Suburban Rail Loop, announced prior to the 2018 election, was vitally important.

“I am determined to see the Suburban Rail Loop delivered,” she said.

“These are big projects, they are important projects, they are complex projects. They take determination, they take commitment, they take a will to back these projects. Cutting these projects is cruelling the future of our state.”

SRL Minister Harriet Shing wouldn’t say whether she had plans to sign more contracts prior to the May 3 federal election.

“I’m looking forward to making announcements on those works in the next little while,” she said.

The Allan government is banking on the Commonwealth to stump up one third of the first stage of the loop. Picture: Mark Stewart

Ms Shing was grilled in parliament on Tuesday about the merits of the SRL, but defended the project which she says will be taking passengers by 2035.

In a fiery question time exchange, Ms Shing also blasted Mr Dutton’s promise to gut funding from the planned upgrades of Sunshine station – which the government argues is essential to its airport link plan – in order to divert funding to a cheaper proposal.

“You can’t build airport rail without upgrading the Sunshine station, that would be like building a house without any foundations,” she said.

It comes after Prime minister Anthony Albanese earmarked $2bn for the station upgrade at the Herald Sun Future Summit in early March.

But opposition public transport spokesman Matthew Guy said the entire project could be built for at least one billion dollars less than the plan put forward by Labor.

Ms Shing was grilled in parliament about the merits of the SRL. Picture: NewsWire/Ian Currie

Brimbank Mayor Thuy Dang said airport rail, the redevelopment of Sunshine station and delivering the Sunshine station precinct masterplan were all needed.

She said the projects are “interdependent” and “must be delivered in entirety to adequately service the 18 million people – both locals and visitors – who will be travelling on the Melbourne Airport Rail each year”.

“These intertwined projects are urgently needed to support the economic growth, housing needs and development of Melbourne’s western region,” she said.

“The redevelopment of Sunshine station and complete delivery of the Sunshine station precinct masterplan are critical to the success of the Melbourne Airport Rail. We simply cannot have one without the other.”

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.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Mr Dutton’s pledge showed the Coalition was “not ready for government”.

Mr Albanese claimed that at one stage under the former Coalition government, Victoria was getting between 7 and 8 per cent of national infrastructure expenditure.

He said Victorians were now “getting their fair share” under his leadership.

“They represent one in four Australians,” Mr Albanese said.

“Melbourne is Australia’s fastest growing city and they got completely neglected by three prime ministers who saw themselves as the Prime Minister for Sydney.”

Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said the May 3 election was a referendum on Mr Dutton’s “treatment of Victoria”.

Peter Dutton has pulled the Coalition’s support for the SRL. Picture: Thomas Lisson

Ms King warned that Victorian taxpayers would be on the hook for the $2.2bn funding gap for Suburban Rail Loop East, while Melbourne Airport Rail would not proceed if Sunshine station was not upgraded.

“This has become a referendum, frankly, on Peter Dutton’s treatment of Victoria,” she said.

“The contracts are already signed for Suburban Rail Loop East. Cutting money from the Commonwealth out of that project, who is going to fill that hole? Victorian taxpayers.

“Without the sunshine precinct being upgraded, Melbourne Airport Rail is dead.

“What I say very much to Victorian voters is, don’t let Peter Dutton short change Victoria again. Don’t let them make Victoria have to pay for Commonwealth neglect.”

But Teal MP Zoe Daniel, whose electorate of Goldstein takes in the start of SRL East at Cheltenham, said there had been a lack of transparency around the state government’s business case.

“No further federal funding should be allocated to it unless the business case stacks up,” Ms Daniel told 3AW.

“It would seem, actually, that the opposition and I are somewhat aligned on this.

“The question then becomes how do you roll back a project that has already begun and how do you extricate yourself from contracts for not only initial works but tunnelling from my electorate to Glen Waverley and Glen Waverley to Box Hill.”

Originally published as Jacinta Allan vows to push on with Suburban Rail Loop despite Peter Dutton’s de-funding pledge