Albanese government commits extra $3.25bn to North East Link

The Albanese government will pump an extra $3.25bn into the North East Link in next week’s federal budget – the biggest single investment it has made in Victoria since being elected.

The Albanese government will pump an extra $3.25bn into the North East Link – the biggest single investment it has made in Victoria since being elected.

The Herald Sun can reveal the massive boost, which will up the Commonwealth’s funding to $5bn, will be included in next week’s federal budget.

Anthony Albanese said the money would make sure Melbourne’s fast growing northeast had the infrastructure it needed and fix the missing link in Melbourne’s freeway network.

“It’ll save commuters more than half an hour on the roads, and get 15,000 trucks off suburban roads each day – which means safer roads, getting you where you want to be faster and easier,” the Prime Minister said.

“Being stuck in traffic doesn’t just waste precious time you could be spending with the kids, friends or just getting on with life. It’s bad for productivity, too.”

Anthony Albanese says the money will make sure Melbourne’s fast-growing northeast has the infrastructure it needs.

The North East Link, being built between the Eastern Fwy and the M80 Ring Rd in Greensborough, is expected to open in 2028.

The project was initially expected to cost $15.8bn, with the 2019 Victorian budget stating it contained “every single cent needed to build (the) North East Link”.

But in December last year, the state government inked contracts for the toll road’s spaghetti junction interchanges at the Eastern Fwy and at the M80 that were billions of dollars more than expected when the business case was done.

This pushed the total project cost to an incredible $26.1bn, making it the most expensive road in Victoria’s history.

The North East Link is expected to open in 2028.

The federal government funding will be put toward the non-tolled components of the project, including the M80 Ring Rd upgrades and North East Link connections work.

The federal government funding will be put toward the non-tolled components of the project, including the M80 Ring Rd upgrades and North East Link connections work.

This will create new lanes, implement smart technology and connections to the 6.5km long North East Link tunnels.

On Thursday, Anthony Albanese defended topping up the budget for North East Link instead of funneling more cash into other projects, such as Airport Rail.

“This project is here. It’s real, and it’s now,” he said.

“Victoria was being shortchanged on this project.

“This is a vital nation-building project.”

The Prime Minister said the extra funding would help to even out the funding pool for infrastructure projects across the country.

“What my government will do is make sure that every state gets its fair share of infrastructure funding and projects can be delivered, like this one,” he said.

Asked whether the federal government would intervene further to get the ball rolling on Airport Rail, Mr Albanese said he had no control over the decisions made by Melbourne Airport.

“We don’t control Melbourne Airport,” he said.

“It is Commonwealth land, which is leased.

“That privatisation decision was made some time ago.”

Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King will visit Melbourne with the Prime Minister on Thursday to make the announcement.

The Prime Minister, however, called on the airport to “get serious” about getting the project moving.

“I’m familiar with airports, from time to time, they think they operate in a way that forgets their social license,” he said.

Mr Albanese was also asked why the funding was not provided to the Suburban Rail Loop, despite continual requests from the Allan government for greater funding for the contentious project.

“You’ll have to see next week’s budget but we’ve already made a contribution for the Suburban Rail Loop,” he said.

Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said: “The hard work we undertook to clean up the mess in the infrastructure pipeline means there is room to deal with ongoing cost pressures and plan for future projects”.

“We are working for all Australians to deliver significant infrastructure that connects communities, stimulates jobs and builds the future of our nation.”

The Victorian government upped its lobbying of the Commonwealth for more federal funding – which had been $1.75bn – earlier this year, with federal infrastructure bureaucrats brought in for a tour of the main construction site where tunnel boring machines would be launched.

Ms King and federal ministers were last month included in a media event at the site, with a joint press release trumpeting “the Albanese and Allan Labor Governments’ North East Link Project”.

The federal government will seek to use the announcement to highlight the Morrison government’s “drought of delivery” and build a reputation of investing in projects that “can be completed”.

Opposition infrastructure spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie criticised the decision to use taxpayer dollars to “bail out” Victorian Labor, saying the public shouldn’t have to pay for the state government’s “incompetence”.

“The last thing we should be asking working families to do in the middle of a cost of living and inflationary crisis is pay extra taxes to bail out Anthony Albanese’s Labor mates,” Senator McKenzie said.