Motorists in Melbourne’s east to be slugged for tunnel in west

Premier Daniel Andrews defends plan to toll motorists in Melbourne’s east for an extra decade to pay for tunnel in city’s west.

Premier Daniel Andrews (left) and Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allen prepare to speak to media at a press conference at the entry point for the West Gate Tunnel boring machine in Footscray. Picture: AAP

Motorists using a Kennett-era toll road in Melbourne’s east will be charged for an extra decade to fund a road tunnel in the western suburbs they may never use, under a secret deal struck between the Andrews government and toll road operator Transurban.

Under legislation introduced in the Victorian parliament today, drivers will be slugged with tolls until 2045 and users of CityLink — completed in 1999 to connect the Monash, Tullamarine and West Gate freeways — will pay tolls for an extra 10 years.

Defending the deal to fund the $6.7bn West Gate Tunnel project, Premier Daniel Andrews said that without a toll extension the cost would have to be borne in full by Victorian taxpayers.

“Either this is a contribution from government and a contribution from road users, or it will be wholly built and paid for by taxpayers, so that means all taxpayers,” Mr Andrews said. “There’ll be less money for hospitals, less money for schools, less money for all the other things we do. This is an appropriate balance.”

Asked whether motorists in the eastern suburbs should have to pay tolls for a decade longer to fund a road in the west, Mr Andrews said all roads were connected.

“I don’t think that’s a very strong argument,” he said.

“There is a road network. Just like public transport, investments in any part of the network benefit the whole network, and it’s the same for roads.”

Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: AAP

The government needs the support of three crossbenchers for its legislation to pass the upper house, but Mr Andrews has refused to reveal how much the deal with Transurban will cost taxpayers and how much the company stands to rake in from Victorians in tolls.

Work on the tunnel has already begun ahead of its expected completion date in 2022.

“We are confident that we will see a majority in both houses of parliament for this important bill,” Mr Andrews said.

“The point in putting it forward though is if these arrangements are not passed, if people try and frustrate these arrangements, if motorists don’t make a contribution to this road, then the budget will need to pay for it and that does come out of hospitals and schools.

“I won’t put a number on it, because I don’t think that that’s where it’s going to finish up.”

Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said the Transurban deal was a “really bad deal for motorists”.

Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien. Picture: AAP

“People who drive on CityLink who may never go on the Westgate Tunnel are going to be slugged with extra tolls for ten years, and higher tolls for another ten years, so this is about people who use CityLink being forced to pay through the nose because Labor can’t afford to pay for their own Westgate Tunnel,” Mr O’Brien said.

“This was something that Transurban and Labor cooked up in secret before the election, and they never got the people’s endorsement for it, so we want to find out exactly how this deal came about, and how much motorists are going to be ripped off as a result of it.”

Mr O’Brien said the Coalition would introduce a motion in the Legislative Council seeking to require the government to make the documents detailing its deal with Transurban public.

“This will be a test for transparency in the new parliament and be a test for the new crossbenchers,” he said.

“Are they prepared to stand up and vote for transparency and accountability or are they prepared to just do deals with the government and keep the public in the dark?”

Labor holds 18 seats in the 40-member upper house, while the Coalition and crossbench have 11 each.