Transurban to toll CityLink for another decade

CityLink motorists could be slugged with a giant hike of 4.25 per cent a year for the next decade to help pay for the West Gate Tunnel. Here’s what the new laws mean for your daily commute.

Transurban has been given the green light to toll CityLink motorists for another decade to bankroll the $6.7 billion West Gate Tunnel project.

The state Opposition attempted to torpedo the controversial deal, which will also allow the tolling giant to hike CityLink charges by 4.25 per cent a year for the next decade.

But it failed to garner enough support on the Legislative Council crossbench to revoke the tolling extension.

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Treasurer Tim Pallas said after the vote that the opposition needed “to get out of the way” of delivering a second river crossing.

“Major tunnelling on the West Gate Tunnel will start this year, and when finished, the project will slash travel times and take more than 9000 trucks off local streets,” he said.

A group of industry heavyweights, including Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, UDIA Victoria, G21, the Victorian Transport Association and the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, earlier today urged MPs not to revoke the deal.

The tunnel will provide an alternative river crossing to the West Gate Bridge. Picture: David Caird

They said derailing the contracted method of paying for the road would cripple investor confidence.

Four years after the Andrews Government killed off the contracts for the East West Link, the group argued that both sides of politics back the WGT project so should leave the funding proposal as it is.

“Using parliamentary processes to change the way this much-needed project is funded will just leave taxpayers footing the bill,” the open letter said.

“Victorians don’t want to see political games from their elected representatives — they want congestion busting, economy boosting infrastructure.”

Infrastructure Partnerships Australia chief executive Adrian Dwyer said the parliament saw “sense” by giving the deal the green light.

“What we saw was Spring Street shenanigans at its worst with an attempt to grandstand on a project that already has an agreed contract in place,” he said.

“Victorians rightly expect their elected representatives to be focused on delivering good infrastructure outcomes, not political point scoring.

“Any decision to change funding arrangements for a project where an agreed contract is already in place would have put a wrecking ball through Victoria’s investment reputation.”

The project’s twin tunnels are already under construction, and will link the West Gate Freeway and CityLink to ease congestion in the west of Melbourne.

Opposition roads spokesman Gordon Rich-Phillips said a road that costs $6 billion to build today should not slug road users $45 billion in tolls over the next 26 years.

He said the current CityLink toll trip cap of just over $9 would soar to more than $20 by 2045, with annual increases of 4.25 per cent a year for the next decade and then increases in line with inflation up until 2045.

“The West Gate Tunnel should be funded through funds from the state (and) funds from the West Gate Tunnel users, not funds from other toll roads that are unrelated,” he said.

The Greens labelled the toll extension a “dodgy deal” and said there was growing support on the crossbench to block it.

“This money is going to be paid for by Victorians either way and what you have the government putting forward is this sweetheart deal that is going to extend tolls on CityLink for decades,” Greens transport spokesman Sam Hibbins said.

“The reality is that if (Premier) Dan Andrews doesn’t want to pay for this road, he shouldn’t have signed that contract.

“This has been an ill conceived project from the get-go, it is going to trash Melbourne’s liveability, pour thousands of cars into the inner city and paid for by a sweetheart deal that this government has done with Transurban.”

Construction on the tunnel has already begun, with boring machines arriving in Melbourne last July. Picture: Nicole Garmston

The government needed the support of at least three of 11 crossbenchers to maintain its funding deal with Transurban.

The revocation motion was defeated 18-22.

Earlier today, both Premier Daniel Andrews and Treasurer Tim Pallas called for crossbenchers to support the tolling extension.

“The key point here is that if users of the road don’t make a contribution towards funding the construction of the road, then that money would have to come out of hospitals and schools,” Mr Andrews said.

“That’s the basic math of this.”

Premier Daniel Andrews called for support for the toll extension. Picture: AAP/Daniel Pockett

Asked whether it would result in service cuts, he said: “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, we will let the upper house deal with the matter and we will argue our case strongly.

“We took this project and the funding mechanism to the election last year and we were resoundingly endorsed.

“People are sick and tired of arguing about this project.”

Mr Pallas added that blocking the deal would be “economic sabotage”, and said the opposition was trying to sow “mischief and mayhem”.

“I’m confident that any attempt to knock off the concession deed will fail,” he said.

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