Murray Basin Rail project blown out by $367.9 million, Auditor General finds

Victoria’s Auditor General reveals $6 billion of cost blowouts in Andrews Government infrastructure projects, with completion delays totalling 55 years.

Half-built: More than $794 million will be spent on the Murray Basin Rail Project, but the Manangatang and Sea Lake lines will remain unfinished. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Victoria’s Auditor General has found the original $426.5 million cost of Murray Basin Rail Project has blown out to $794.4m and by more than five years on the promised 2018-19 completion date.

The blowout was revealed in VAGO’s Major Projects Performance report today that lists 110 major projects worth $99 billion, the vast majority of which are transport infrastructure upgrades.

VAGO revealed a total of $6 billion in cost blowouts across the state and a combined total of 55 years in delays to delivering these projects.

Apart from the Basin Rail project some other major cost blowouts include the:

WARRNAMBOOL Line Upgrade originally $114m, now $348m.

PRINCES Highway East – Traralgon to Sale Duplication originally $175m, now $259m.

CAR Parks for Commuters Program originally $150m, now $485m.

CITY Loop Fire and Safety Upgrade Stage 2 and Intruder Alarm originally $133m, now $382m.

LEVEL Crossing Removal Program originally $6 billion, no $6.759 billion.

METRO Tunnel Project originally $10.9 billion, now $12.255 billion.

In trying to assess project performance and costs VAGO found the Andrews Government’s Department of Treasury and Finance and its public sector entities’ reporting to parliament and the public was “not clear and objective”.

In fact VAGO found there was “a lack of clarity about who is responsible for each project … information on projects’ performance against their targets … data errors (and) a lack of sufficient disclosure or explanation of project details”.

On the point of disclosure The Weekly Times has previously reported on Victorian Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan’s refusal to release a revised business case of the Murray Basin Rail Project that she used to justify dumping the government’s original promise to fully standardise the north-west rail freight network.

Nationals leader Peter Walsh said the Andrews Government’s “rescoping” of the Basin Rail had robbed local communities of its full benefits.

“Project mismanagement has sent the Basin Rail Project spiralling down a black hole of cost blowouts and delays, but instead of fixing the problems the Andrews Labor Government chose to rewrite history with a ‘rescoping’,” Mr Walsh said.

“Minister for Excuses Jacinta Allan botched this project badly leaving it stalled for years, only to finally admit Labor has no intention of standardising the Sea Lake and Manangatang lines.

“The Andrews Labor Government’s ‘rescoping’ robs north west Victorian producers and transport stakeholders of windfall benefits that come with better access to domestic and international markets.

“The Auditor-General’s scathing assessment is a disappointing red flag for communities hoping to reap the productivity and profitability benefits of the once-in-a-generation Murray Basin Rail upgrades.”

“Labor just can’t manage major projects, leaving taxpayers to pick up the tab and local communities waiting longer for key infrastructure,” Mr Walsh said.

Ms Allan said she was working in partnership with the Federal Government on all elements of the Murray Basin Rail Project to deliver benefits to farmers.

“Regional Victorians would remember Peter Walsh bowled up a half baked business case, and only stumped up half of the funding on the eve of an election – which is in line with the Nationals legacy of shutting country train lines and building nothing,” Ms Allan said.