Labor will not fund the Perth Freight Link road project, and will instead provide an initial $1 billion to WA to build the Perth Metronet public transport project, if the party wins at the July 2 election.
The project would transform Perth’s passenger rail network with new lines to growing regions of the city. Leader of WA Labor Mark McGowan – in opposition – is championing the project, and is running consultations to help determine the final choices his party will make for new routes.
Shorten joined McGowan on a visit to Perth’s Kings Park on Monday.
Having already committed to Metronet in his budget reply speech in early May, the opposition leader detailed Labor’s proposal to the media this week.
“We will contribute $1 billion towards the building of Perth Metronet,” he said.
“Everybody knows that WA’s been hit by the downturn in the mining boom and we need to see real jobs, real jobs created to help the community transition from the peak of the mining boom to a post-mining boom state economy.”
Shorten said the project would cut congestion, “one of the great frustrations which stops people spending more time with their families”.
“Only Labor has a plan to put the public transport needs of Perth first,” he continued.
The funding would mean cancelling the money the Turnbull Government has already committed to the Perth Freight Link, a road project which was recently stalled by action from opposing groups in the WA Supreme Court.
Labor’s infrastructure leader Anthony Albanese said the party was responding to Infrastructure Australia, which says that costs of delays in urban transport in Perth could blow out from $2 billion in 2011 to $16 billion in 2031, without additional funding.
“While the best Malcolm Turnbull will do is take selfies on public transport, Labor will actually build it,” Albanese said.
He said a Labor Government will work with WA to submit a full business case for Metronet to Infrastructure Australia for review.
“Labor will contribute $760 million to the project out to 2020, with a further $240 million available in the following two years,” he explained.
Albanese said priorities for Metronet planning and assessment will include:
- Building a Morley-Ellenbrook Line
- Extending the Northern Suburbs line to Yanchep
- Extending the Armadale Line to Byford
- Commencing a Circle Line, linking the Mandurah Line to the Thornlie Line
- Remove unsafe level crossings that slow traffic on the Midland, Armadale and Fremantle Lines and help provide an incentive for urban renewal
- Building a new station at Karnup on the Mandurah Line
Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull criticised Labor’s announcement, accusing Shorten of spending much of the election, so far, on a reckless and impossible ‘spend-o-meter’ of commitments.
“Mr Shorten has a spend-o-meter,” the PM said in NSW on Monday.
“That’s what he’s got. He has a plan for spending and spending and spending. And he doesn’t know how to pay for it.”