Victorian motorists, taxpayers won’t stomach another East West Link fiasco

THE Andrews Government’s solution to its Western Distributor quandary has to benefit motorists and taxpayers. Neither could stomach another East West Link fiasco, writes Matt Johnston.

• Western Distributor hits pothole as Greens, Coalition threaten to block project funding

WHEN Daniel Andrews held a marathon media conference to reveal he would scrap the East West Link if Labor won the 2014 state election, he sweated like an Australia Open tennis player on a 40 degree day.

While it may have been a tad warm in that room, the perspiration dripping from Dan’s face was more about the then-Opposition leader being nervous about promising to dump a big road project many voters thought would cut ­travel times into the CBD.

In government, he quickly latched on to a different big road project — the $5.5 billion Western Distributor proposed by Transurban.

Mr Andrews said the project would save motorists in the west 20 minutes a day, take 6000 trucks off the West Gate Bridge and create 5600 jobs.

Premier Daniel Andrews is sweating on his trusty Treasurer Tim Pallas working out a solution to the Western Distributor. Picture: Julie Kiriacoudis

To help pay for a third of the project costs, motorists on CityLink roads — tolled sections of the Monash and the road to the airport — would keep coughing up cash for a decade or so after Transurban’s concession deed was supposed to expire in 2034.

Unfortunately for Transurban and the premier, it turned out the parliament had the final say on that part of the plan, which appeared great for shareholders, but not so much for motorists.

While it would be a bizarre partnership between the pro-road Coalition and anti-road Greens, there is a real prospect opposition parties could team up and use their numbers in the Legislative Council to overturn the deed extension.

It’s no secret, for very different political and practical reasons, neither party likes the deal. There’s a lot of water to go under the Bolte Bridge before it hits a dead end, but the predicament has caused some alarm due to the strength of deals that need to be secured.

Mr Andrews is sweating on his trusty Treasurer Tim Pallas working out a solution, fast.

The result better be a good deal for motorists and taxpayers — neither could stomach another East West Link fiasco.

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