The Victorian opposition says it will axe the government’s $35 billion Suburban Rail Loop project if it wins the November state election.
Liberals leader Matthew Guy vowed instead to use the money for Victoria’s health system, which he says has been plagued by years of mismanagement and neglect.
He said the SRL was the most expensive yet least scrutinised project in Australia’s history.
As a first step, Guy has promised to put the stretch from Cheltenham to Box Hill in Melbourne’s east on ice.
“This November, Victorians face a clear choice. A choice between immediately rebuilding Victoria’s broken health system or a train line in 13 years’ time,” he said.
Early works worth about $2.3 billion were already budgeted for and signed off on for the rail loop, so the opposition wouldn’t rip up those contracts, he said.
“When the state can afford it, we might be able to build it but the key point is, what’s the priority now – you can’t do both,” he said.
“You can’t go and borrow tens of billions of dollars and rebuild the health service.”
Leader of The Nationals, Peter Walsh, said the commitment means brand-new hospitals in Mildura, West Gippsland and Wodonga.
“There was $35 billion locked into one city project, but under a Liberal and Nationals Government $8 billion of this will be redirected to our regional hospitals to address our health crisis,” he said.
“We need the nurses, we need the doctors, we need the health professionals as much as Melbourne.
“Victorians know we’re facing a healthcare crisis, and this commitment will mean fewer people on elective surgery waiting lists, fewer people dying while waiting for an ambulance, and fewer people dying from a lack of healthcare professionals.
“A vote for Labor and Labor-aligned Independents will see regional Victoria miss out on funding to fix our healthcare crisis, all for an inner-city train line from Cheltenham to Box Hill.”
In reply, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews said the opposition’s plan would cut 24,000 jobs.
“The Liberals will cut the SRL, meaning Cheltenham, Clayton, Monash, Glen Waverley, Burwood and Box Hill would never get the brand new train stations that are currently in early works,” he said.
“He will walk away from a train to Monash University, to Doncaster, to Deakin and La Trobe University, there will be no orbital rail to connect Melbourne’s suburbs.
“Just like Melbourne needed a city loop all those years ago – with discussions beginning in 1929 and construction completed in 1981 – our growing city now needs an orbital rail loop to give effect to the vision laid out in Plan Melbourne.
“The SRL – to be built in partnership with the Federal Government – is not just a rail line, it’s a network that connects Victoria’s fastest growing centres of jobs, tertiary education, major hospital and research centres and the airport.”
Andrews said Guy also threatened to scrap the state’s Big Build Program that currently supports 50,000 workers. He said level crossing removals, road upgrades and train line works would all be at risk under the Liberals.
“He’s walking away from the transport connections that these projects deliver, the jobs they offer and the wages that support Victorian families,” he said.