Allan has time to abandon Melbourne's gargantuan folly. But it's about to run out
The way the SRL East contracts are structured, construction and engineering companies working on the project bill the state on a monthly basis. Under this pay-as-you-dig arrangement, consortia are paid profits only on costs they have incurred and work they have done.
This means that if the government quit the SRL now, it could break the main works contracts it has already signed for a fraction of their nominal, $5.3 billion value. There are no hidden nasties like there were in the East West Link contract the former Coalition government booby-trapped for Labor on the eve of the 2014 state election.
Once the tunnel boring machine is loaded onto freight transport in Guangzhou, the costs incurred by the main works consortia – this first to get its hands dirty is the Suburban Connect consortia comprising of Acciona, CPB Contractors and Ghella – will escalate quickly.
By Christmas, the Victorian government will be standing deep in a hole at Clarinda with a choice only to keep digging.
This calculus should be front-of-mind for anyone reading revelations by my colleagues Patrick Hatch and Kieran Rooney about the North West Strategic Assessment, a wafty title given to a secret government document detailing urgent rail projects needed in parts of Melbourne far removed from the proposed route of SRL East.
In the eight years since a room full of PwC consultants started dreaming up plans for an orbital rail loop around Melbourne, the public transport needs of the city's fast-growing western and northern suburbs has gone from pressing to dire.
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Former premier Daniel Andrews promised to electrify the Melton and Wyndham lines within weeks of unveiling his plans for SRL. While nothing has been done on the former, the latter is ploughing ahead despite Infrastructure Australia warning about the business case and funding model and the federal government privately urging the state to change tracks.
Premier Jacinta Allan and many of her ministers remain convinced of the electoral popularity of the SRL. Two days after the federal election wiped out the last two Liberal-held seats in Melbourne's eastern suburbs and silenced murmurings around her leadership, Allan went so far as to suggest it's the SRL wot won it.
Yet how can a Labor government, in good conscience, prioritise another rail line for a part of Melbourne already well serviced by public transport above the provision of basic transport services for communities living in neglected parts of the city?
As one Labor MP who represents a Melbourne growth area explained, access to reliable public transport isn't just about moving people around or enabling townhouse and high-rise developments. Fundamentally, it is about opportunity to study, to work and to prosper.
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That opportunity should not be equal only for people living east of the Maribyrnong River or inside Melbourne's ring road.
The state and federal government's combined $4 billion investment to rebuild Sunshine station and untangle the knot of metro, regional and freight lines that run past its existing platforms is the first significant step towards modern rail transport for people living in Caroline Springs, Melton, Tarneit and Wyndham Vale.
It should be the start of a more substantial pivot away from giving Melbourne's east what it wants and providing the west and north what they need.
SRL East is a project which, in the unlikely event it is completed on time, will run its first service in 2035. Its opportunity cost is being counted now, on a daily basis, across health, mental health, education and other essential services, where jobs are being cut and agencies defunded.
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In the new currency of Victoria's public sector, every metre of SRL tunnel equates to $130 million that could otherwise be spent on teachers or nurses or preventive healthcare or government schools.
Before the last state election, when then opposition leader Matthew Guy promised to axe the SRL and redirect the money into hospitals, Daniel Andrews delivered a pithy retort. 'Not rail or hospitals,' he tweeted. 'Both.'
It was a brilliant line and, as it turns out, complete bollocks.
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The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Games get the tick, renewables the stick under new laws
The construction of 2032 Olympic venues will be fast-tracked, and renewable energy projects will face greater scrutiny, after a state parliament passed a controversial bill. Queensland's Liberal National government rammed through laws late on Thursday that will see Brisbane 2032 venues exempt from local planning laws. Victoria Park in Brisbane's inner-city is expected to become the Games hub, with a 63,000-seat main stadium and a nearby national aquatic centre set to be built. The Games infrastructure authority, tasked with orchestrating the construction of venues, will not be subject to 15 planning laws, including the Environmental Protection, Queensland Heritage and Nature Conservation Acts. Final planning sign-off will fall to the state government for all venues and athletes' villages, not local councils. Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the bill is about getting on with the job and delivering the 2032 Games. "Queenslanders have put trust in the Crisafulli government and we will get on with the job," he told parliament. "We are ending the inertia plaguing the Olympic and Paralympic Games and getting the games back on track after 1,200 days of chaos and crisis from those opposite." The bill was subject to committee scrutiny, where stakeholders claimed it would set a dangerous precedent for future planning and energy infrastructure projects across Queensland. Renewable energy developers will need to undertake community consultation prior to project approvals under the legislation. Opposition leader Steven Miles labelled the bill a disaster soaked in ideology. "It's a smoke screen. It is ideological zealotry from a party that has always hated renewables," he told parliament. "Under the premier's leadership, the LNP has no energy road-map, no modelling and no plan, just roadblocks, confusion and chaos. "Queenslanders are getting an LNP ideology masquerading as policy." Greens MP Michael Berkman inferred the bill is taking Queensland back to the era under former premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen, beginning his submission on the laws with "Here we Joh again". "There's one promise that the LNP is clearly determined to keep, and that's taking us backwards on renewable energy," he said. "This bill rule results in stricter regulatory requirements for a two-hectare solar farm than for a coal mine that extracts any less than two million tons per annum of coal." But government MPs rejected any criticism of the bill. "We're not afraid to say coal on this side of the chamber," Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dale Last said. Hervey Bay MP David Lee queried how "Labor members would think about wind or solar farms in their city electorates." Budget papers on Tuesday locked in the LNP's pre-election promise to scrap targets from the former Labor government's renewable energy goals in the energy power grid. Those were 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030, 70 per cent by 2032 and 80 per cent by 2035. The state will no longer track how much renewable energy is contributing to the grid, calling it a "discontinued measure". Wind, solar and hydro projects accounted for more than a quarter of the state's power in 2024/25 while coal contributed nearly 65 per cent, with the remainder supplied from gas. After the government budget was delivered earlier this week with a record $205 billion debt weighing down the bottom line, the state opposition will deliver its response on Thursday. The construction of 2032 Olympic venues will be fast-tracked, and renewable energy projects will face greater scrutiny, after a state parliament passed a controversial bill. Queensland's Liberal National government rammed through laws late on Thursday that will see Brisbane 2032 venues exempt from local planning laws. Victoria Park in Brisbane's inner-city is expected to become the Games hub, with a 63,000-seat main stadium and a nearby national aquatic centre set to be built. The Games infrastructure authority, tasked with orchestrating the construction of venues, will not be subject to 15 planning laws, including the Environmental Protection, Queensland Heritage and Nature Conservation Acts. Final planning sign-off will fall to the state government for all venues and athletes' villages, not local councils. Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the bill is about getting on with the job and delivering the 2032 Games. "Queenslanders have put trust in the Crisafulli government and we will get on with the job," he told parliament. "We are ending the inertia plaguing the Olympic and Paralympic Games and getting the games back on track after 1,200 days of chaos and crisis from those opposite." The bill was subject to committee scrutiny, where stakeholders claimed it would set a dangerous precedent for future planning and energy infrastructure projects across Queensland. Renewable energy developers will need to undertake community consultation prior to project approvals under the legislation. Opposition leader Steven Miles labelled the bill a disaster soaked in ideology. "It's a smoke screen. It is ideological zealotry from a party that has always hated renewables," he told parliament. "Under the premier's leadership, the LNP has no energy road-map, no modelling and no plan, just roadblocks, confusion and chaos. "Queenslanders are getting an LNP ideology masquerading as policy." Greens MP Michael Berkman inferred the bill is taking Queensland back to the era under former premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen, beginning his submission on the laws with "Here we Joh again". "There's one promise that the LNP is clearly determined to keep, and that's taking us backwards on renewable energy," he said. "This bill rule results in stricter regulatory requirements for a two-hectare solar farm than for a coal mine that extracts any less than two million tons per annum of coal." But government MPs rejected any criticism of the bill. "We're not afraid to say coal on this side of the chamber," Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dale Last said. Hervey Bay MP David Lee queried how "Labor members would think about wind or solar farms in their city electorates." Budget papers on Tuesday locked in the LNP's pre-election promise to scrap targets from the former Labor government's renewable energy goals in the energy power grid. Those were 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030, 70 per cent by 2032 and 80 per cent by 2035. The state will no longer track how much renewable energy is contributing to the grid, calling it a "discontinued measure". Wind, solar and hydro projects accounted for more than a quarter of the state's power in 2024/25 while coal contributed nearly 65 per cent, with the remainder supplied from gas. After the government budget was delivered earlier this week with a record $205 billion debt weighing down the bottom line, the state opposition will deliver its response on Thursday. The construction of 2032 Olympic venues will be fast-tracked, and renewable energy projects will face greater scrutiny, after a state parliament passed a controversial bill. Queensland's Liberal National government rammed through laws late on Thursday that will see Brisbane 2032 venues exempt from local planning laws. Victoria Park in Brisbane's inner-city is expected to become the Games hub, with a 63,000-seat main stadium and a nearby national aquatic centre set to be built. The Games infrastructure authority, tasked with orchestrating the construction of venues, will not be subject to 15 planning laws, including the Environmental Protection, Queensland Heritage and Nature Conservation Acts. Final planning sign-off will fall to the state government for all venues and athletes' villages, not local councils. Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the bill is about getting on with the job and delivering the 2032 Games. "Queenslanders have put trust in the Crisafulli government and we will get on with the job," he told parliament. "We are ending the inertia plaguing the Olympic and Paralympic Games and getting the games back on track after 1,200 days of chaos and crisis from those opposite." The bill was subject to committee scrutiny, where stakeholders claimed it would set a dangerous precedent for future planning and energy infrastructure projects across Queensland. Renewable energy developers will need to undertake community consultation prior to project approvals under the legislation. Opposition leader Steven Miles labelled the bill a disaster soaked in ideology. "It's a smoke screen. It is ideological zealotry from a party that has always hated renewables," he told parliament. "Under the premier's leadership, the LNP has no energy road-map, no modelling and no plan, just roadblocks, confusion and chaos. "Queenslanders are getting an LNP ideology masquerading as policy." Greens MP Michael Berkman inferred the bill is taking Queensland back to the era under former premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen, beginning his submission on the laws with "Here we Joh again". "There's one promise that the LNP is clearly determined to keep, and that's taking us backwards on renewable energy," he said. "This bill rule results in stricter regulatory requirements for a two-hectare solar farm than for a coal mine that extracts any less than two million tons per annum of coal." But government MPs rejected any criticism of the bill. "We're not afraid to say coal on this side of the chamber," Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dale Last said. Hervey Bay MP David Lee queried how "Labor members would think about wind or solar farms in their city electorates." Budget papers on Tuesday locked in the LNP's pre-election promise to scrap targets from the former Labor government's renewable energy goals in the energy power grid. Those were 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030, 70 per cent by 2032 and 80 per cent by 2035. The state will no longer track how much renewable energy is contributing to the grid, calling it a "discontinued measure". Wind, solar and hydro projects accounted for more than a quarter of the state's power in 2024/25 while coal contributed nearly 65 per cent, with the remainder supplied from gas. After the government budget was delivered earlier this week with a record $205 billion debt weighing down the bottom line, the state opposition will deliver its response on Thursday. The construction of 2032 Olympic venues will be fast-tracked, and renewable energy projects will face greater scrutiny, after a state parliament passed a controversial bill. Queensland's Liberal National government rammed through laws late on Thursday that will see Brisbane 2032 venues exempt from local planning laws. Victoria Park in Brisbane's inner-city is expected to become the Games hub, with a 63,000-seat main stadium and a nearby national aquatic centre set to be built. The Games infrastructure authority, tasked with orchestrating the construction of venues, will not be subject to 15 planning laws, including the Environmental Protection, Queensland Heritage and Nature Conservation Acts. Final planning sign-off will fall to the state government for all venues and athletes' villages, not local councils. Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the bill is about getting on with the job and delivering the 2032 Games. "Queenslanders have put trust in the Crisafulli government and we will get on with the job," he told parliament. "We are ending the inertia plaguing the Olympic and Paralympic Games and getting the games back on track after 1,200 days of chaos and crisis from those opposite." The bill was subject to committee scrutiny, where stakeholders claimed it would set a dangerous precedent for future planning and energy infrastructure projects across Queensland. Renewable energy developers will need to undertake community consultation prior to project approvals under the legislation. Opposition leader Steven Miles labelled the bill a disaster soaked in ideology. "It's a smoke screen. It is ideological zealotry from a party that has always hated renewables," he told parliament. "Under the premier's leadership, the LNP has no energy road-map, no modelling and no plan, just roadblocks, confusion and chaos. "Queenslanders are getting an LNP ideology masquerading as policy." Greens MP Michael Berkman inferred the bill is taking Queensland back to the era under former premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen, beginning his submission on the laws with "Here we Joh again". "There's one promise that the LNP is clearly determined to keep, and that's taking us backwards on renewable energy," he said. "This bill rule results in stricter regulatory requirements for a two-hectare solar farm than for a coal mine that extracts any less than two million tons per annum of coal." But government MPs rejected any criticism of the bill. "We're not afraid to say coal on this side of the chamber," Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dale Last said. Hervey Bay MP David Lee queried how "Labor members would think about wind or solar farms in their city electorates." Budget papers on Tuesday locked in the LNP's pre-election promise to scrap targets from the former Labor government's renewable energy goals in the energy power grid. Those were 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030, 70 per cent by 2032 and 80 per cent by 2035. The state will no longer track how much renewable energy is contributing to the grid, calling it a "discontinued measure". Wind, solar and hydro projects accounted for more than a quarter of the state's power in 2024/25 while coal contributed nearly 65 per cent, with the remainder supplied from gas. After the government budget was delivered earlier this week with a record $205 billion debt weighing down the bottom line, the state opposition will deliver its response on Thursday.
West Australian
3 hours ago
- West Australian
Australian news and politics live: Gallagher defends Australia's defence spending after Trump pressure
Scroll down for the latest news and updates. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley says the Coalition's new approach to emissions reduction is focused on practical outcomes rather than meeting a fixed deadline. 'It's iterative and it's continuous, and it will develop a plan … underpinned by two goals. That we have a stable energy grid which provides affordable and reliable power for households and businesses, and that we reduce emissions so that we're playing our part in the global effort and the global challenge of climate change,' Ley told ABC RN on Thursday morning. 'So it's not ending at a certain point in time. It's not landing on a certain date. It's an important working group, and it will reflect the wide range of views on energy policy across Australia, and it will also hold up a mirror to this government, because they've made big promises on energy. 'We're going to hold them to account, and we're going to make sure that they explain to the Australian people how they are on track to reduce the cost of electricity. We haven't seen that so far.' Opposition Leader Sussan Ley says the Liberal party must do more to recruit, retain, and support women—but remains open-minded about whether quotas are the answer. 'I am agnostic on the specific methods to make it happen, but I am a zealot that it does actually happen,' Ley told ABC RN. She explained, 'Our Liberal party is a federated body, and it doesn't have a top-down instruction method … We've got state divisions. Now, some state divisions might choose to implement quotas. If they do, that's fine. If others don't, that's also fine.' 'What I made very clear yesterday is what is not fine is not having enough women. So as the first woman leader of our federal party, let me send the clearest possible message: we do need to do better. We've got to recruit better. We've got to retain better. We've got to support better.' As the conflict in the Middle East continues to create uncertainty, thousands of Australians have registered their intention to return home from Israel and Iran. Overnight, a group of Australians landed in Sydney after finally getting out of Tel Aviv on a RAAF jet. Another group is expected to arrive later on Thursday. 'We are providing further assisted travel. We've had defence assets in the region ready to go for when airspace opens up,' said Finance Minister Katy Gallagher on ABC News Breakfast. 'We had 4,000 Australians register in both Iran and Israel who have indicated they would like to come home. And so, those flights have helped with that. As airspace opens and more commercial options are available, we would expect to see more Australians coming home through those options as well.' 'We have DFAT staff assisting on the border of Azerbaijan and they will continue to be there. It is difficult. We are hoping that if the ceasefire holds, we would be able to see further options available to people. Because obviously they are the ones that are really wanting to return home as soon as possible.' Australia is facing renewed pressure to ramp up defence spending as US President Donald Trump pushes for NATO countries to lift their budgets to 5 per cent of GDP, but Finance Minister Katy Gallagher says the government is focused on targeted investment. Australia's defence spending is projected to reach about 2.4 per cent of GDP by the mid-2030s, while other NATO memebers are rapidly accelerating their military budgets in response to global uncertainty. 'We are actually already very substantially increasing our investment in defence. We've found room in tight budgets for an extra $11bn over the forward estimates and around $57.5bn over the course of the next decade,' Gallagher told ABC News Breakfast on Thursday morning. 'We have been increasing defence spending. When we came to government, it wasn't what it should have been and delivering the capability needed. We've put billions of dollars into defence. We understand the environment we're working in. We take the advice of our agencies seriously. Gallagher also stressed, 'It is a balancing act. But the government's job is to make sure that all areas of government are funded properly, including defence. Those choices are on my desk every day. We'll continue to make them in the best interests of Australia.'
Perth Now
4 hours ago
- Perth Now
Games get the tick, renewables the stick under new laws
The construction of 2032 Olympic venues will be fast-tracked, and renewable energy projects will face greater scrutiny, after a state parliament passed a controversial bill. Queensland's Liberal National government rammed through laws late on Thursday that will see Brisbane 2032 venues exempt from local planning laws. Victoria Park in Brisbane's inner-city is expected to become the Games hub, with a 63,000-seat main stadium and a nearby national aquatic centre set to be built. The Games infrastructure authority, tasked with orchestrating the construction of venues, will not be subject to 15 planning laws, including the Environmental Protection, Queensland Heritage and Nature Conservation Acts. Final planning sign-off will fall to the state government for all venues and athletes' villages, not local councils. Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the bill is about getting on with the job and delivering the 2032 Games. "Queenslanders have put trust in the Crisafulli government and we will get on with the job," he told parliament. "We are ending the inertia plaguing the Olympic and Paralympic Games and getting the games back on track after 1,200 days of chaos and crisis from those opposite." The bill was subject to committee scrutiny, where stakeholders claimed it would set a dangerous precedent for future planning and energy infrastructure projects across Queensland. Renewable energy developers will need to undertake community consultation prior to project approvals under the legislation. Opposition leader Steven Miles labelled the bill a disaster soaked in ideology. "It's a smoke screen. It is ideological zealotry from a party that has always hated renewables," he told parliament. "Under the premier's leadership, the LNP has no energy road-map, no modelling and no plan, just roadblocks, confusion and chaos. "Queenslanders are getting an LNP ideology masquerading as policy." Greens MP Michael Berkman inferred the bill is taking Queensland back to the era under former premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen, beginning his submission on the laws with "Here we Joh again". "There's one promise that the LNP is clearly determined to keep, and that's taking us backwards on renewable energy," he said. "This bill rule results in stricter regulatory requirements for a two-hectare solar farm than for a coal mine that extracts any less than two million tons per annum of coal." But government MPs rejected any criticism of the bill. "We're not afraid to say coal on this side of the chamber," Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dale Last said. Hervey Bay MP David Lee queried how "Labor members would think about wind or solar farms in their city electorates." Budget papers on Tuesday locked in the LNP's pre-election promise to scrap targets from the former Labor government's renewable energy goals in the energy power grid. Those were 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030, 70 per cent by 2032 and 80 per cent by 2035. The state will no longer track how much renewable energy is contributing to the grid, calling it a "discontinued measure". Wind, solar and hydro projects accounted for more than a quarter of the state's power in 2024/25 while coal contributed nearly 65 per cent, with the remainder supplied from gas. After the government budget was delivered earlier this week with a record $205 billion debt weighing down the bottom line, the state opposition will deliver its response on Thursday.
