Infrastructure review: Federal government accused of shifting blame onto states

Dozens of planned road upgrades for two major Victorian highways remain in doubt as the state government has to decide on projects amid rampant cost blowouts. See if a road near you is affected.

Forty regional road upgrades across Victoria remain under a cloud after the federal government released its long-awaited infrastructure review.

More than $1.2bn worth of works along the Princes Highway and Western Highway are in limbo after the report, released last week, recommended lumping together individual projects along road corridors.

This means federal funding allocated to projects is now in a pool, with the state government tasked with deciding which projects will go ahead amid rampant cost blowouts.

Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said the new approach meant states would be able to better manage projects because they wouldn’t have to seek permission from the Commonwealth to move money around.

But opposition infrastructure spokeswoman, Senator Bridget McKenzie, slammed the federal government for shifting their responsibilities on to the states.

Infrastructure MP Catherine King said the changes would reduce red tape. Picture: Martin Ollman

Senator McKenzie said the future of 252 projects on major highways and freight routes nationwide was uncertain.

“By bundling projects on major highway corridors, the Albanese Government have attempted to wipe their hands of blame for which projects will be cut or delayed by the states in order to achieve Labor’s infrastructure budget savings target,” she said.

Earlier this month, the Herald Sun revealed that signs spruiking major road upgrades across regional Victoria were disappearing in an ominous sign they were set to be axed.

A Victorian government spokesman said it had “removed a number of signs that show project completion dates” that had been delayed by the review.

Two projects affected included the $2.9m Stirling Bridge upgrade in Sale, due to be completed in December, and a $9.7m Princes Hwy intersection upgrade in Bairnsdale due in June 2024.

However, it remains unclear if they will go ahead because there is only $262m allocated to 33 projects along the Princes Highway corridor.

Almost $1bn is set aside for seven projects across the Western Highway, with the federal government announcing $100m in extra funding for the Ballarat to Stawell duplication in response to the review.

Senator Bridget McKenzie has accused the federal government of not taking the blame for project cancellations. Picture: Martin Ollman

Herald Sun analysis of projects the 10-year infrastructure investment pipeline reveals that the new Labor-held electorate of Hawke, the safe Liberal seat of Flinders and regional seat of Indi copped the brunt of the project axing, losing two projects each, amid $33bn worth of blowouts.

Twelve of the 50 projects canned in response to the review recommendations were in Victoria.

This equates to more than $2.8bn of savings, which will remain projects will remain in the state, with the money able to be spent on addressing additional cost pressures.