Daniel Andrews says no to East West Link despite Coalition’s $4b funding offer

The re-elected federal Coalition has offered $4 billion for the East West Link, but the Andrews Government is refusing to back the road project, saying it just doesn’t “stack up”.

The Andrews Government will not back building the East West Link, despite the re-elected federal Coalition offering $4 billion to build the road tunnel.

Premier Daniel Andrews is refusing to budge on the project, despite Scott Morrison’s stunning election win, which has also opened a multi-billion dollar hole in the state Budget.

Victoria will receive a massive cash windfall for infrastructure projects after becoming the key political battleground during the election campaign.

But it is understood the state government is facing an estimated Budget shortfall of $3.5 billion over the next four years, as it was relying on a Labor government in Canberra to support its expensive commitments to the Suburban Rail Loop and three-year-old kindergarten.

The political fight over the controversial East West Link is set to drag on for another three years, after the Prime Minister put an extra $1 billion on the table in the final week of the campaign.

Daniel Andrews at the ALP’s election night party on Saturday. Picture: David Caird

The Coalition argues its $4 billion commitment, combined with money from the private sector, is enough to build the eastern section of the road connecting CityLink with the Eastern Freeway.

But Mr Andrews said it would be “very, very challenging” to fit the project — which he cancelled after his 2014 election victory, costing taxpayers $1.3 billion — into Victoria’s construction program. He said building the East West Link would delay the North East Link, which includes major changes to the Eastern Freeway.

Victorian Infrastructure Transport minister Jacinta Allan agreed, saying the East West Link was a project that didn’t stack up.

“This is a project that does not stack up. For every dollar allocated to the road it lost between 40 to 50 cents in the dollar,” Ms Allan said.

She said building the East West Link would also put pressure on the state government’s ability to complete the pipeline of work it promised to voters at last November’s election - especially the $16 billion North East Link.

“If it was to be squeezed into the program right now it would cause delay to the North East Link. “The North East Link is a project that does stack up.”

But Ms Allan denied the Coalition’s surprise federal election had given them a mandate to build the road-tunnel, as there was a swing against the Liberals it in Victoria.

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But Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said Victorians “would not cop” Mr Andrews “turning his back” on federal money to build the East West Link again.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg called on the Premier to explain why the “critical infrastructure project” was “not a priority for you, given it is a priority for the people of Melbourne”.

Victoria will also now cash in on Mr Morrison’s $2 billion commitment to create a fast rail link between Melbourne and Geelong, slashing journey times to just 32 minutes.

The state government had criticised the pledge, saying it was not enough to pay for a project which could cost as much as $15 billion.

Mr Andrews repeatedly attacked Mr Morrison as the “Prime Minister for Sydney” during the campaign, infuriating the Coalition with a $1 million taxpayer-funded ad campaign for “Our Fair Share”.

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But he tempered his criticism yesterday, saying he was ready to “work closely” with Mr Morrison.

“The next three years will be about getting on and delivering things and I’m prepared to be a partner in that,” he said.

Mr O’Brien accused Mr Andrews of “playing grubby politics” to help Bill Shorten.

The Victorian Budget had been delayed until May 27 as the state government hoped for a massive cash boost from a federal Labor government, including an extra $804 million for public schools.

Victoria is the only state which has not accepted the Coalition’s new school funding deal, claiming it short-changes students, and had to sign an interim agreement which expires at the end of June.

Mr Andrews promised yesterday that Treasurer Tim Pallas would deliver a Budget surplus that funded “every single election commitment we made”.

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Originally published as Daniel Andrews says no to East West Link despite Coalition’s $4b funding offer