This was published 6 months ago
Airport rail stand-off drags on with no mediator in sight
Three months after the federal government said it would end the stand-off over Melbourne’s stalled airport rail project, no one has been appointed to broker the peace and both sides are refusing to back down over the future of the $10 billion train line.
Melbourne Airport’s owners want an underground station, while the Victorian government prefers an above-ground station – or to pause the project indefinitely.
Jacinta Allan, then Victoria’s transport infrastructure minister, and Paul Fletcher, the then federal urban infrastructure minister, at a press conference on the Airport Rail Link in 2021.Credit: Jason South
Federal Transport Minister Catherine King promised in November to appoint a mediator to end the stalemate but no one has been found. Her office did not directly respond to questions on Monday about why the mediator had not been appointed and when they would be in place.
Victorian Transport Infrastructure Minister Danny Pearson on Monday said the Victorian government was ready to work with the Commonwealth’s chosen negotiator to settle their dispute but was not yet aware of an appointment.
“We’ve spent three years trying to get an outcome with the airport,” Pearson said.
“We await the appointment of that person, and we’ll work with that person in good faith.”
Two sources familiar with the process, speaking anonymously to detail internal discussions, said both sides were still waiting for details on what the mediator would be asked to accomplish, including whether they would be asked to focus on the station or also resolve differences around compensation and other design features.
One source said they expected a decision to be made before the middle of March, with the Commonwealth spending time finding a candidate who would be acceptable to either party.
Pearson said it was speculative to say whether the project would be delayed further as the process dragged out. Construction was meant to begin in 2022 and finish by 2029.
“Ultimately, the Commonwealth have said that they want to appoint a mediator, we just need to see who that person will be [and] what the process will be,” he said.
Early works were underway in 2023 and major contracts were close to being awarded. This was paused while the project was included in a review of the federal infrastructure pipeline.
That process ended with the Commonwealth deciding to continue its support for a railway line to Tullamarine, and a new station at Keilor East, but work has not resumed while the deadlock over the airport station continues.
“The process is under way to appoint a mediator to achieve a mutually agreed outcome between the Victorian government and Melbourne Airport,” a spokeswoman for King said.
Opposition transport infrastructure spokesman David Southwick said the project had become a “complete shambles”.
“The failure to resolve this dispute demonstrates that Labor cannot manage money or major projects,” he said
“The longer this project remains in limbo, the more Victoria will be left behind.”
Another point of contention is how the full scope of the rail link will be funded. The federal and state governments have committed $5 billion each, but its total cost has been estimated to be as high as $13 billion.
That funding commitment was made in 2018. Since then, major projects across Australia’s east coast have run over budget, including the announcement late in 2023 that the North East Link would cost $10 billion above its initial price tag.
No agreement has been struck on who will provide additional funding for the airport rail if required. The final price tag will depend on the station design, negotiations over compensation and ongoing construction cost increases.
Earlier this month the airport delivered a community newsletter to a million mailboxes across Melbourne promoting the underground station option.
Moonee Valley Mayor Pierce Tyson later called on the airport to drop its “obstructionist demands” over the project and said the local community wanted it under way.
“It’s not fair that progress is being held up over demands for an underground station at the airport,” he said at the time.
An artist’s impression of a proposed elevated rail station at Melbourne Airport.
On Monday, the airport announced construction would start on the second stage of an elevated roadway to improve traffic around Tullamarine.
The airport’s chief of ground transport, property and retail, Jai McDermott said the project would take an estimated 70,000 cars off the main Terminal Drive thoroughfare and “provide a more resilient road network designed to reduce stress for passengers either departing or arriving”.
McDermott said the delay in the airport rail project meant the road works would be less complex to complete, and the design meant an above-ground or underground station could still be built.
“We think it could make it a little easier to deliver both projects over time,” he told reporters.
The Allan government announced a series of autumn rail and road disruptions due to work on its other major projects.
From March to May, buses will replace trains during some periods on the Sunbury, Cranbourne, Pakenham and Gippsland lines as testing continues on the Metro Tunnel.
Sections of the Frankston line will also be affected by the removal of a level crossing in Parkdale.
Footscray Road will also have lane closures until mid-2024 as crews construct a 2½-kilometre elevated “veloway”, a freeway for cyclists, as part of the West Gate Tunnel.
Crews are working at all six sites of future stations on the Suburban Rail Loop.
Get the day’s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter here.