The Victorian Liberals and Nationals have today written to the Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet to request that no further Cheltenham to Box Hill rail line contracts be entered into prior to the election.
The Andrews Labor Government has contracted preliminary works relating to this project, however the main construction contracts are yet to be awarded or signed.
Recent costings from the independent Parliamentary Budget Office have revealed a $200 billion total cost for just two-thirds of Labor’s rail loop, four times the amount initially promised by Labor in 2018 for the entire project.
Furthermore, Daniel Andrews is yet to provide any details on Labor’s Loop Levy, a multi-billion dollar new tax set to hit homeowners across Melbourne to fund construction costs.
Instead of funding a new train line in Melbourne’s southeast with hundreds of billions of dollars of new debt and higher taxes, the Liberals and Nationals will shelve this project and put every single cent into fixing Victoria’s health crisis.
Shadow Treasurer, David Davis, said given the Liberals and Nationals have clearly indicated that we will shelve the Cheltenham to Box Hill rail line if we win office, it would be unconscionable for further contracts to be entered into at this stage.
“The Matt Guy Liberals and Nationals have made it crystal clear that we will shelve the Cheltenham to Box Hill rail line, and divert every available cent into fixing the health crisis,” Mr Davis said.
“With the election just 94 days away and the project not scheduled to be completed for another 13 years, it would be complete bloody-mindedness for Daniel Andrews and Labor to sign any further contracts on the project at this stage.”
“Every cent irreversibly committed to this project prior to the election is a cent that can’t be spent on fixing the health crisis.”
“This November, Victorians will have a clear choice. Real solutions to fix the health crisis, or a new train line in 13 years’ time.”
David Davis MP
Shadow Treasurer