‘At what cost?': Victorian opposition dismisses poll showing support for Suburban Rail Loop warning the project is a ‘debt bomb'

Sky News AU

14 hours ago

The Victorian opposition has dismissed polling showing a majority of Victorians support a major Allan government infrastructure project, describing it as a 'debt bomb'.
Newspoll results released on Tuesday show a massive 78 per cent of Victorians are fairly worried or very worried about the state's skyrocketing debt levels – which are set to hit $194 billion by 2028-29.
However the poll also found 59 per cent of Victorians backed the controversial multi-stage Suburban Rail Loop project, the first stage of which is set to cost more than $34 billion.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin dismissed the findings on Tuesday afternoon, telling reporters the question lacked key context.
'It depends on what question you ask. If I said to people, would you like to see a rail loop that goes all the way around Melbourne, they'd say yes. But if I said to you, it's at the cost of the next generations ever getting infrastructure, they'd say no,' Mr Battin said.
The comment was echoed by shadow major projects minister Evan Mulholland, who said everyone liked a train, "but they don't like a debt bomb".
"A debt bomb is what the Suburban Rail Loop is,' Mr Mulholland added.
'It's Victorians, particularly in the eastern suburbs, but everywhere that will be paying for the suburban rail loop for generations.'
Mr Mulholland said the Victorian Liberals and Nationals wanted more new rail, but priority should be given to electrifying rail in outer suburban growth areas.
'It's people in the growth areas, places like Donnybrook and Wallen in my electorate, and Wyndham Vale and Melton that desperately need electrified rail,' he said.
'And we know the government sitting on a secret report which shows that these communities, within five years, are going to be facing crushed conditions where V-Line trains are going to have to skip stations because the government hasn't planned the infrastructure where it is urgent.
'We want electrified rail where it's needed for all Victorians, because you've got people living in third-world conditions in our growth areas. Our fellow Victorians that are suffering, that do not have public transport access where it's needed.'
Mr Battin said that in just four years Victoria would be spending $1.2 million every hour in interest on the debt.
'That's more than $10 billion each and every year,' he said.
'That's nearly twice what we spend on Victoria Police during a crime crisis. It's just under what we spend in health during a health crisis. It's more than we spend on education here in Victoria. How can the government justify putting so much money into one project?'
The Allan government is yet to outline how it will fund the SRL East - the first of three stages on the project, which will see trains run between Cheltenham and Box Hill.
The Victorian government has committed just $11.8 billion towards the project with the Albanese government committing just $2.2 billion, leaving an almost $20 billion black hole – with the Allan government claiming a third of the funding will come from value capture.
The multi-stage orbital train line was estimated to cost $50 billion when it was proposed by then-Premier Daniel Andrews ahead of the 2018 state election.
However costs have since doubled, with a 2024 report by the Parliamentary Budget Office estimating it will cost $96.4 billion to build the SRL East and SRL North sections of the project.
SRL East, which is already being constructed, will see trains running from Cheltenham to Box Hill, with stops in Clayton, Monash, Glen Waverley and Burwood – thereby connecting the Frankston, Pakenham/Cranbourne, Glen Waverley and Lilydale/Belgrade train lines.
SRL North will then see this extended from Box Hill to Melbourne Airport, with stops in Doncaster, Heidelberg, Bundoora, Reservoir, Fawkner, and Broadmeadows – connecting the Lilydale/Belgrade line with the Hurstbridge, Mernda, Upfield and Craigieburn lines.
The line will then connect to the long-awaited Melbourne airport rail link, which will run from Sunshine to the Airport via Keilor East, with a final SRL West section connecting Werribee to Sunshine.