1 day Ago By Dominic Giannini and Andrew Brown
Quick Links Network A contentious, multibillion-dollar rail project is on the chopping block but it's the choice of location for the announcement that has raised eyebrows. Create a free account to read this article Opposition Leader Peter Dutton announced an extra $1.5 billion for Melbourne's airport rail loop on top of $5 billion already committed federally.
The funding pledge was made at a winery, half an hour from the airport and in a safe Labor seat - although MPs had a good view of planes arriving in Melbourne in the distance. Even the coalition's infrastructure spokeswoman was left scratching her head at the location, joking she was only there because it's where she was told to go. The commitment has been matched by the Victorian coalition opposition, meaning the $13 billion project would be equally funded if the parties take power in state and federal polls.
It could shorten travel to the city to half an hour and reduce congestion on the arterial Tullamarine Freeway. The catch is the money will be reallocated from the Commonwealth's pledged $2.2 billion in funding for the Suburban Rail Loop.
The withdrawal of federal funding would likely be the final nail in the coffin of the contentious project, a 90km orbital rail project running from Melbourne's southeast to the outer west via the airport, as the debt-laden state struggles for cash. "It's a $200 billion policy which is pie in the sky, it's not going to happen," Mr Dutton told reporters on Tuesday. The cut to the rail loop would cost thousands of jobs, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan clapped back, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also criticised the cut.
"It's April Fools' Day but Peter Dutton's cuts are no laughing matter," Ms Allan said. Victoria had hoped the federal government would cover a third of the more than $30 billion price tag for the first phase, but Labor has been reluctant to go beyond the $2.2 billion already committed.
Infrastructure Australia, an independent government advisor, has called for an "exit strategy" in case it cannot be delivered as costs blow out. Ms Allan deflected questions about whether Victoria would go it alone to fund the project if the federal coalition was elected, but she has previously pledged to steam ahead no matter who is prime minister. Standing alongside candidates for six electorates, Mr Dutton chastised the Victorian state government as he sought to leverage its unpopularity to pick up seats.
The coalition is looking to regain a slate of marginal seats from Labor and independents while sandbagging two of their own, which are on razor-thin margins. It also wants to tackle housing stress, pledging to ease mortgage lending requirements by directing the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to lower the serviceability buffer. The buffer sits at three per cent, meaning borrowers are assessed at their ability to pay a mortgage if rates went up significantly rather than where they sit when a loan is taken out.
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