Victorian Labor conference 2023: Melbourne Airport Link sparks Labor Party fractures

Delays of a major project have caused a divide in Victorian Labor, with members pushing a motion at the party’s state conference calling for “publicly pledged timelines be honoured”.

Delays to the Melbourne Airport Rail Link project have caused fractures in Victorian Labor, ahead of their first state conference since 2019.

Fractures have emerged within Victorian Labor over Melbourne Airport Rail, with members pushing a motion at the party’s state conference calling on the project not to be delayed.

Labor is holding its state conference for the first time since 2019.

Members will debate and vote on key policy issues and elect committees which can influence both the preselection of candidates and how the party is run.

As part of the two-day event, more than 100 urgency resolutions have been put up for debate and many call on Labor to act on a range of contentious issues.

Among those expected to provoke a reaction is a motion calling on the Andrews governments to ensure airport rail is not delayed.

The future of the project, which was scheduled for a 2029 completion date, is currently under a cloud after it was included in a federal review of the Commonwealth’s $120bn infrastructure spend.

This is the first time Victorian Labor has held a state conference for the first time since 2019. Picture: Aaron Francis.

Although early works had already begun, contract talks have been delayed and most work suspended amid fears it could be delayed by two to four years to limit its impact on soaring construction costs and state budgets.

The Herald Sun this week revealed the project is tipped to cost as much as $3bn above its $10bn business case price, with the federal review coming after a dispute between the Victorian and Commonwealth governments over who would cover the extra bill.

Delays to the Melbourne Airport Rail Link project are behind an internal riff in the Labor Party.

Members are pushing for a motion at the state conference to have the project completed by 2029. Picture: Melbourne Airport

In a motion put forward, Moonee Valley Mayor Pierce Tyson and party member Bassel Tallal will call on the party to note airport rail as an election commitment, including a new station at Keilor East.

This includes calling on the Andrews government to build the project “by the indicative delivery date of 2029” and to tell stakeholders that “publicly pledged timelines be honoured”.

“There is strong local government and community support for the station. It will deliver critical transport infrastructure in Melbourne’s growing northwest, connecting more people to key employment centres, including Sunshine, Parkville, the CBD and Melbourne Airport,” the motion says.

The motion comes amid internal disquiet about the possibility of delaying airport rail, which is seen as a major boost to transport in Melbourne’s north and west, while the Suburban Rail Loop stages planned for the city’s east and south east has been quarantined from the review.

MPs from the north and west have voiced concerns internally that this is feeding into a perception their region has been neglected, a claim the government denies.

Other motions at state conference include a push to condemn the federal government over the AUKUS military agreement and to provide WorkCover and portable benefits for gig workers such as delivery riders and rideshare drivers, pushed by the TWU’s Mem Suleyman.

RTBU state secretary Vik Sharma will urge the Andrews government to commit to returning buffet services to all VLocity trains while another member motion will ask to declare deer as a feral pest species.

Other party reforms to be debated include setting an amount of funding available for ALP candidates contesting elections in seats the party do not hold, and providing members greater voting rights.

Another group is pushing to further reform the state’s election donation rules, capping the amount of money a candidate can donate to their own campaign.