Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan says Labor ‘won’t be lectured’ on Suburban Rail Loop contracts
The Andrews government has been accused of “bloody-mindedness” over Suburban Rail Loop contracts as debate rages over the project that could cost $125 billion.
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Victoria’s major parties have broken out into a tit-for-tat over broken contracts after the Opposition demanded assurances no more agreements for the Suburban Rail Loop would be signed until after the election.
But no major works contracts are due for the project until after polling day, with the Liberals and Nationals on Wednesday seeking the guarantee after announcing they would shelve the project.
In 2014, the Napthine Government signed a major contract for the East West Link prior to the election that year and the Andrews Government dumped the planned toll road once coming into power.
Both sides were later criticised by the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office over the process, with the project estimated to have cost taxpayers $1.1 billion without being built.
Eight years later, The Liberals and Nationals have written to the secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet requesting no further contracts on the proposed underground railway line, between Cheltenham and Box Hill, be signed.
Shadow Treasurer David Davis said the opposition had committed to shelving the works if elected and said he didn’t trust the government not to push ahead with it.
“The Matt Guy Liberals and Nationals have made it crystal clear that we will shelve the Cheltenham to Box Hill rail line, and divert every available cent into fixing the health crisis,” he said.
“With the election just 94 days away and the project not scheduled to be completed for another 13 years, it would be complete bloody-mindedness for Daniel Andrews and Labor to sign any further contracts on the project at this stage.
“Every cent irreversibly committed to this project prior to the election is a cent that can’t be spent on fixing the health crisis.”
But Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan shot back at Mr Davis on Wednesday and said the state had always been clear that no major work documents would be signed until late 2023.
She said the state “wouldn’t be lectured” by people who had signed East West Link contracts eight weeks out from the 2014 election.
“We are determined to get on and deliver the Suburban Rail Loop because Victorians voted for it,” Ms Allan said.
“We will follow all the appropriate conventions that sit with the caretaker processes.”
When questioned about the cost of the first two stages of the SRL, Ms Allan would again not commit to a total figure that has been hotly debated.
Victoria’s Parliamentary Budget Office estimates the project could cost $125 billion based on calculations including inflation rather than the value of today’s money.
The Andrews Government disputes these sums but will not say publicly what their own numbers are, instead pointing to a $34.5bn value for the first stage and a business case that gives a range of up to $50.5bn for both.
The $50.5bn range has been heavily questioned because it leaves just $16bn for the railway from Box Hill to Melbourne Airport which is expected to be longer and more complex.
Ms Allan said the figures in the business case had been publicly available for a year, but refrained from publicly stating a figure for both sections.
“We also think it’s pretty fair and reasonable to allow the future processes to run through, because they are some years away yet,” she said.
“SRL East is estimated to cost between $30bn and $35bn … Sometime before 2035 the government of the day will have to work through and make decisions about proceeding with SRL North.”
The government’s business and investment case, used to justify why the SRL is necessary, is based on the benefits of both sections being built.
Despite this, Ms Allan said the project stacked up.
“It goes through, clearly, investments and support that’s needed for the project,” she said.
“Tender processes will dictate the ultimate investment required for future stages of any project.
“Matthew Guy and the Liberal Party are saying they will cut the SRL, cut the tens of thousands of the jobs and the connections it will deliver to the suburbs of Melbourne and the connections for the rest of Victoria.”
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