Cutting Sunshine hub would kill Airport Rail, says Allan

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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s pledge to pull funding from the Sunshine train station project would make the Melbourne Airport Rail link redundant and hurt people in the west and regions the most, Premier Jacinta Allan has said.

Dutton announced late on Monday that if elected on May 3, he would redirect $2.2 billion of federal funding for the SRL East and another $2 billion for the Sunshine hub towards the $13 billion Airport Rail link.

SRL Minister Harriet Shing, Premier Jacinta Allan, and Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams on Tuesday.Credit: AAPIMAGE

In February, the Albanese government pledged an extra $2 billion to get the airport link started at the Sunshine hub, with another $2 billion already committed by the state, which said untangling tracks and expanding the station were key to the project.

Dutton, saying Victorians had had a “gutful” of the Allan government, said Sunshine station would still be upgraded under the Coalition’s plan.

“We upgrade Sunshine, but not to that extent [proposed by Labor],” he said. “The money otherwise that becomes surplus will be spent in Victoria on road projects.”

Opposition leader Peter Dutton and Infrastructure spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie have vowed to withdraw federal funding from the SRL.Credit: James Brickwood

Allan responded on Tuesday that pulling federal funding for Sunshine would negate the value of the Airport Rail.

“What that means [is] it will leave train travellers stranded at the platform. It won’t deliver the connections that are needed to get trains through to the airport,” she said.

“It’ll leave regional passengers stranded because building Sunshine is all about making sure regional communities can connect into Airport Rail, and it sends a very loud message to the Melton community that you can forget about electrification under a Peter Dutton government because of his cuts to the Sunshine station project.”

State Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams said Dutton did not understand the significance of the Sunshine hub.

“It is stage 1 of Airport Rail, and what he is proposing puts all of its benefits at risk,” she said.

Williams said the Melbourne Airport Rail and Suburban Rail Loop were “not an either/or proposition”.

Allan would not say how much it would cost to cancel contracts on SRL East if it could not be progressed, while SRL Minister Harriet Shing refused to rule out signing any more contracts before the May 3 federal election, adding that negotiations on further packages continued. However, further contracts are not imminent.

The Victorian government is still relying on the federal government to hand over another $9 billion towards the $35 billion SRL East connecting Cheltenham to Box Hill by 2035, the first stage of the orbital Suburban Rail Link.

An artist’s impression of a proposed above-ground station at Melbourne Airport.

Infrastructure Australia last month warned the Albanese government against putting more Commonwealth cash towards SRL East until it was re-costed and more information was provided about how the state proposed to fund it. The Victorian government says one-third would be funded through unspecified value capture.

Federal Labor’s $2.2 billion commitment to the SRL has been restricted to funding “tangible elements” that could provide benefits even if the project does not go ahead.

Dutton and federal Coalition infrastructure spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie said SRL East was a “cruel hoax”, and that a Coalition government would prioritise Airport Rail instead.

“It will bring Melbourne up to the same status as many of the great airports across the world, including here in Australia, that already have a rail link project. And we know they work effectively,” Dutton said on Tuesday.

He said all federal funding he would pull from the SRL East and Sunshine hub if elected would stay in Victoria, suggesting any surplus could be used to extend the Frankston train line, duplicate Donnybrook Road or for planning work to extend the Upfield line in Melbourne’s north.

A Brad Battin-led Victorian government, if elected in 2026, would also put another $1.5 billion into the Airport Rail link.

The state opposition has called on the Victorian government to cancel the SRL now but has not committed to scrapping the project if it continues into 2026, depending on how progressed major works is and what the exit clauses say.

Credit: Matt Golding

Brimbank Mayor Thuy Dang welcomed Dutton’s support for Airport Rail but said the intertwined redevelopment of Sunshine station was crucial to supporting jobs and housing to develop the west.

“This bipartisan support is what the west needs to assure us that Melbourne Airport Rail will be delivered regardless of who wins the election,” Dang said. “However ... the redevelopment of Sunshine station and complete delivery of the Sunshine station precinct masterplan are critical to the success of the Melbourne Airport Rail. We simply cannot have one without the other.”

Federal Transport Minister Catherine King warned Victorian voters to not let “Peter Dutton short-change Victoria again”.

Federal and state Labor have committed a combined $12 billion to Airport Rail, $7 billion from the Commonwealth and $5 billion from Victoria, following the extra $2 billion pledged in February to the Sunshine hub.

The governments and private owners of the airport signed a peace deal last month, committing to progress the link, which was due to be finished in 2029 but was delayed four years because of a since-settled dispute over whether the airport station should be above or below ground.

The project was estimated at $10 billion to $13 billion in 2021. Since then, the government estimates that construction costs have risen by about 22 per cent.

But Williams said on Tuesday that the cost estimates stood.

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