Labor ignores experts over $35 billion pet project

Liberal Party Victoria

Daniel Andrews and his Labor friends in Canberra have sidelined infrastructure experts over Daniel Andrews' pet project - the Cheltenham to Box Hill rail line.

Speaking yesterday, Federal Labor Infrastructure Minister Catherine King admitted relying solely on the Victorian Government's completely discredited cost-benefit analysis for providing more than $2 billion in federal funding towards the project.

Worse still, even if Infrastructure Australia's assessment finds the Suburban Rail Loop isn't worth progressing, the Federal Government would still talk to the Victorian Government about "how they think they can make it stack up".

These comments are at odds with Anthony Albanese's position on infrastructure funding, having stated that Infrastructure Australia decisions should be "a completely independent process that assesses projects promptly, not according to the political agenda of the Government of the day".

Independent Parliamentary Budget Office analysis has costed the construction of just two-thirds of Daniel Andrews' pet project at $125 billion - two and a half times the originally promised $50 billion for the entire loop.

If Daniel Andrews is re-elected, he will create a $125 billion debt fuelled sink-hole that Victorians will never be able to climb out of.

The only way to avoid Labor's higher taxes and even greater debt is to vote Liberals and Nationals.

Shadow Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Dr Matthew Bach, said it was undeniable that the Suburban Rail Loop was all about politics, not outcomes for Victorians.

"Labor is ignoring all the rules to justify investing in this dud of a project," Dr Bach said.

"That's why a Matt Guy Government will shelve it and reprioritise every single cent into fixing the health crisis."

"The simple fact is this - Daniel Andrews' Cheltenham to Box Hill rail line has never stacked up, and only a vote for the Liberals and Nationals will redirect this money to where it is really needed."

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