Throughout her decades in politics, Jacinta Allan hasn’t been afraid to pick a fight with the federal government – no matter which party was in power.
But on Thursday, when the Albanese government announced it would cut $4.8bn worth of infrastructure funding in Victoria after a months-long review, the premier was uncharacteristically subdued.
Allan made clear it was her expectation the money from the 12 axed projects would remain in the state, which she said had failed to receive its “fair share” of infrastructure funding for “far too long”.
Her comments were in stark contrast to those made by Labor governments in Queensland and New South Wales – the former rejected the infrastructure review outright while the latter expressed “disappointment with a capital D”.
It was no coincidence she spoke about the cuts at the site of the soon-to-be-completed Anzac Station, which forms part of the $12bn Metro Tunnel – a project that did not receive a single dollar from the federal government.
In question time later that day, Allan played down the cuts and rebuffed a laughable attempt by the opposition leader, John Pesutto, to characterise the government’s infrastructure agenda as in “disarray”.
“We know that the failed former federal Liberal-National government put a whole bunch of projects on the federal infrastructure agenda not because they could be delivered, but because they were after them to deliver votes for them in the lead-up to the election,” Allan said.
The same, however, could be said about another project that survived the cull: the long-awaited Melbourne airport train line.
At the 2018 state election, the then-premier Daniel Andrews vowed to be the government “that finally gets it done” – six decades after a rail link from Melbourne to Tullamarine was first proposed.
While the failure of successive governments to deliver the project has become a running joke in Victoria, there was reason to believe it would become a reality.
The federal and state government’s both committed $5bn to the project, a business case was released and early works began in October 2022 – right before a state election.
Behind the scenes, however, the project was a mess. Negotiations between the owners of Melbourne airport and the state government had stalled, with the former firmly opposed to plans for an above-ground station.
According to government sources, the airport had a list of 10,000 technical requirements for the project, which included wall surfaces that “engage the five human senses to reduce anxiety”, roof lining in a “warm” material to “emphasise the horizontality of the roof planes” and “thermal comfort metrics in outdoor zones” – ie fountains and water play areas for children.
They said airport also demanded $1bn in compensation during the construction of the station – more than four times the costs outlined in its business case – which Melbourne airport has disputed.
While some Labor MPs say they were blindsided when the project was halted in May – as the Victorian government waited for the findings of the review – many were relieved.
With the commonwealth recommitting to the project, the Allan government is hopeful it will play a more active role in the negations, or use its planning powers to break the impasse.
“The project is 100% stuck,” a Victorian government source said. “[The federal infrastructure minister] Catherine King needs to unstick it because we have been trying for three years and haven’t been able to.”
For her part, King has committed to installing an independent negotiator to resolve the stalemate.
In a statement, the airport claimed the reason the state wanted an elevated station was because it could be built faster. The government, however, suggests an underground station could cost up to $60bn – and even more if soil contamination from firefighting foams containing PFAS is found.
Meanwhile the federal infrastructure review spared the Victorian government’s flagship project – the Suburban Rail Loop – as the $2bn in commonwealth funding was an election commitment. But it did raise concerns about its business case.
In any event, the cost to build both projects at the same time will be a huge undertaking for the state government, even with federal help.
The delays will also come at a cost: Allan on Thursday conceded the price of the airport rail will end up more than the planned $8-13bn, and its 2029 opening date will be pushed back.
It leaves Victorians wondering whether the joke is on them.
