Under questioning at the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) today, Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Jacinta Allan, refused to reveal the true cost to Victorian taxpayers of the 29 level crossing removals completed to date.
This arrogant refusal comes despite repeated warnings that the cost of these level crossing removals was spiralling out of control.
The first 50 level crossing removals were budgeted to cost $5-6 billion in the 2015-16 Budget. The Auditor-General in 2017 found the cost of this program had blown out to $8.3 billion. This is an increase of more than 60%.
By the 2019-20 Budget, the cost of removing half that number, a further 25 level crossings by 2025, has more than doubled to $6.6 billion.
Labor can’t manage major projects and they can’t manage money. They are determined to keep secret from Victorians the real cost of their mismanagement and overspending.
Labor’s major projects are haemorrhaging Victorians’ taxes and Jacinta Allan’s only response is to hide the detail from Victorians.
David Davis MP
Shadow Minister for Public Transport (Metro) and Transport Infrastructure