Budget 2017: Turnbull accused of ‘ratting’ on Victoria funds

The federal budget awarded Victoria just $1 billion of an expected $1.45bn asset renewal incentive.

The Andrews Government revealed plans earlier in May for a $1.45bn regional rail revival funded entirely by a $1.45bn asset recycling incentive the state believes it is owed for the Port of Melbourne sale. Picture Norm Oorloff

The future of a planned $1.45 billion Victorian regional rail package hangs in the balance following the Turnbull Government’s decision to award the state just two-thirds of the funding earmarked for the project.

The Andrews Government revealed plans earlier in May for an expanded and upgraded regional rail revival funded entirely by a $1.45bn incentive the state believes it is owed for the Port of Melbourne sale, but the federal budget announcement is almost $500m short of the funds needed.

A visibly irritated Premier Daniel Andrews this morning accused the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of “ratting” on the asset recycling incentive, and short-changing Victorians.

• Budget 2017: Live reaction

“Now we’re going to have to go through each and every one of those projects ... because of the fact that Malcolm Turnbull has ripped off Victoria by ratting on his deal with our state,” Mr Andrews told reporters on Wednesday.

“The challenge today for Mr Turnbull is to explain why it’s OK to rat on a deal with Victoria, to rip off the people of Victoria, but honour all of your commitments down to the very last cent with NSW.”

The comments come a week after the Victorian budget in which Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas savaged the Turnbull Government for a “Sydney-centric approach” to funding that was leaving the state behind and out of pocket.

Under the rail plan, the federal government has allocated $500m for improvements to rail lines in the politically sensitive Northeast, Gippsland and Geelong regions, and a study assessing the Shepparton line. An additional $460m has been set aside for infrastructure projects which are to be decided on in negotiations between both governments.

Victorian Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said the decision to leave half of the funding subject to negotiations with government as having “serious strings attached.”

She added that Treasurer Scott Morrison’s invitation for the state to apply for funding from a $10bn federal rail to make up the $450m shortfall would be too slow to flow through to get the rail package off the ground.

“The dollars [from the federal rail fund] don’t start flowing until 2020 and won’t really kick in u til 2022, so its some way off ... but the real issue is that the fund puts the politics back into the equation; it’s a competitive fund administered by the Commonwealth.

“Victoria has no confidence it’ll get its fair share from a Sydney-centric government.”

Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy weighed in on the decision, arguing that Victoria deserved more, but also accused the Andrews Government of having let the state by adopting an intractable negotiating strategy with the Federal Government.

“I have always said that Victoria should receive every single cent of our fair share, but it’s starting to look like Daniel Andrews is playing politics with federal funding for infrastructure,” he said.

“If the Turnbull Government and the new state Labor Government in Western Australia can put politics aside and reach a deal in just six weeks, Victorians are right to ask why Daniel Andrews is dragging it out over two years.”