James Campbell: Victoria big loser as transport cash focuses on poll, not needs

VICTORIA is growing faster than any other state, but this leaked list shows we only get $50 million more than Darwin. We got railroaded, writes James Campbell.

READING this leaked list of transport projects in line for Commonwealth cash, it’s hard not to notice that while it includes $1.5 billion for Queensland, including roads for Rockhampton, Mackay, Cairns and a light rail — i.e., a tram — for the Gold Coast, and $3.5 billion for Western Sydney Rail in NSW, all Victoria gets is $150 million for roads in Geelong.

So despite the fact a quarter of the population of Australia lives here and we’re growing faster than any other state, Victoria gets only $50 million more than Darwin.

Yes, there’s $1.5 billion for the eternal and never-to-be-realised dream of fast rail along the east coast, but we share that with NSW and the ACT.

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So leaving aside for a second the fact that this mob is in such a bad way that this list has been leaked, basically the best way to understand the Commonwealth is to imagine an ATM that spits out $15 in Queensland and $35 in NSW for every dollar that it spits out in Victoria.

Graphic on re-election plan for online.

Why is it so? The answer is there aren’t enough marginal seats here. The $150 million earmarked for Geelong helps the government in the marginal seat of Corangamite held by Sarah Henderson.

In recent months, there has also been a promise of federal rail cash to help the struggling Chris Crewther on the other side of the bay in Dunkley.

But aside from those two and maybe La Trobe held by Jason Wood, there weren’t any other Victorian seats in play. Compare that with the $3.5 billion for western Sydney that will go towards a railway line through three Labor marginal seats, and the six LNP seats the Turnbull government was planning to spend up on in Queensland.

Then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull (right) with Member for La Trobe Jason Wood. Picture: AAP

The list reveals that whatever the reason the Queenslanders who voted to remove Turnbull might have had for what they did two weeks ago, they can’t now claim the former PM was planning on leaving them to their electoral fate. On the contrary, he was getting ready to deluge them with cash.

For Victoria, the irony of the list is that it was drawn up before the spill that got rid of Turnbull. Now the ALP is convinced the list of “in play” seats in Victoria would also include Chisholm in Melbourne’s inner east and Deakin in the outer east. Scott Morrison might need to find some vital transport projects to fund in Box Hill and Blackburn to go with his tram for the Gold Coast.

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