Prime Minister Tony Abbott has confirmed that $1.5 billion in federal funding allocated for Victoria's scrapped East West Link toll road will not be redirected to the Melbourne Metro rail project. Abbott stated the money is in a 'locked box' and cannot be used for other transport initiatives.
Speaking on radio station 3AW, Abbott expressed dismay that Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews had abandoned the East West Link, a project signed by the former Coalition government just weeks before the November election. The federal government had pledged a total of $3 billion for the road, with an additional $1.5 billion to be released once construction was underway.
Abbott emphasised that the Commonwealth does not fund urban rail projects, only roads of national significance and nationally significant freight rail. He noted that the Victorian government could use the asset recycling fund if it privatised assets, but the East West Link funds could not be diverted to the rail project.
On Wednesday, Andrews announced that the state had avoided paying compensation to the consortium contracted to build the East West Link, though $339 million already spent could not be recovered. Abbott criticised the deal, claiming it would cost 7,000 jobs and that the toll road was the only solution to traffic congestion.
Andrews, meanwhile, confirmed that technical work had begun on the Melbourne Metro, a nine-kilometre twin-tunnel project estimated to cost between $9 billion and $11 billion. He stated that aligning the tunnel with Swanston Street was the most convenient and cost-effective option, despite previous concerns about disruption during construction.
