What do Peter Dutton's proposed funding cuts really mean for Melbourne's long-awaited airport rail?
It's not often that a politician plans to cut infrastructure projects in an effort to win an election. But that's exactly what Peter Dutton did when he visited Victoria on Tuesday.
The opposition leader promised to halt funding for the state government's Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) project and an upgrade at Sunshine station, then redirect some of the money towards the Melbourne airport rail link instead.
The announcement sparked a warning from the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, who said commuters would be 'stranded at the platform' at Melbourne airport as a result. Meanwhile, Anthony Albanese said Dutton's plans revealed his intention to be the 'prime minister for Sydney'.
So, what exactly did Dutton announce and what does this mean for the long-awaited airport rail line?
Dutton on Tuesday announced that, if elected, he would pull $2.2bn of federal funding allocated to the SRL, describing it as an 'unfunded, cruel hoax of a project'.
He also announced he would withdraw $2bn in federal funding from a proposed $4bn upgrade of Sunshine station and its surrounding rail yards. Dutton said the upgrade, which was jointly announced by the state and federal governments in February, was 'gold-plated' and could be scaled back.
Instead, he has committed an additional $1.5bn in federal funds to the Melbourne airport rail link project, to be matched by a state Coalition government. (Victoria goes to the polls in November 2026).
That leaves about $2.7bn, which Dutton said would go to other Victorian road and rail projects. In a media release, he floated 'extending the Frankston line to Langwarrin and Baxter, duplicating Donnybrook Road and planning for the extension of the Upfield line in Melbourne's north' as possible projects it would invest in instead.
The SRL is key to the Victorian Labor government's long-term vision for the state's public transport system.
While the early work has only begun on the first stage of the loop – SRL East – a 26km stretch of tunnels between Cheltenham and Box Hill, it is eventually meant to travel from Box Hill to Melbourne airport via Sunshine and then on to Werribee. There is no completion date for the later stages of the project but it expects tunnelling to begin on SRL East next year and completion by 2035.
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The Victorian government has committed about $9.3bn for SRL east while the Albanese government pledged $2.2bn at the last federal election, which has been approved after an assessment by Infrastructure Australia.
The state is seeking an additional $9.3bn from the commonwealth, although an Infrastructure Australia report released last week recommended that the federal government halt further funding until an updated cost-benefit analysis is produced. It said the Victorian government should prepare an 'exit strategy' should the project prove unfeasible.
Dutton has called the SRL a 'pipe dream,' claiming that it is a project 'everyone knows would never be delivered' and should be halted.
Dutton said that some of the planned upgrades to Sunshine station, which were designed to allow a future connection to the SRL line, would not be needed if the loop does not go ahead. It is for this reason he has proposed cutting funding for the station's redevelopment.
But both the Victorian and federal Labor governments say that the $2bn in federal funding for Sunshine station is crucial to delivering not just the SRL but also Melbourne airport rail.
According to a Victorian government factsheet, the upgrade will turn Sunshine into a 'super hub' by creating capacity for 40 trains an hour to travel through the station.
This includes via two new platforms for additional services for the growing suburbs of Melton and Wyndham Vale and a regional platform for more services on the Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat lines. It would also create space to allow for a new rail line to Melbourne Airport and the electrification of the Melton Line – both long-awaited infrastructure projects.
Allan said pulling funding from Sunshine station would undermine the Melbourne airport rail link and 'leave train travellers stranded at the platform,' particularly those from the regions.
'Building Sunshine is all about making sure regional communities can connect into AirportRail, and it sends a very loud message to the Melton community that you can forget about electrification under a Peter Dutton government,' Allan said.
Victoria's transport infrastructure minister Gabrielle Williams and Brimbank mayor Thuy Dang said the Sunshine upgrades and the airport rail are interdependent and should proceed together to deliver maximum benefit for both local residents and visitors.
'We simply cannot have one without the other,' Dang said.
Albanese said the proposal was proof Dutton was 'not ready for government'.
'Sunshine station is about access to the airport. It's about making sure that people in Ballarat and Bendigo and Geelong and parts of Melbourne can get to the airport,' the prime minister said.
'It's a part of the airport rail link, it's part of the Suburban Rail [Loop] as well. It's how it all fits together.'
His infrastructure minister, Catherine King, was more blunt. She said the Sunshine works and Melbourne Airport Rail Link were 'one project'.
'Without the Sunshine precinct being upgraded, Melbourne airport rail is dead,' King said.
At Allan's press conference, the premier refused to say whether she would sign any further contracts for SRL before the 3 May federal election. But she noted Metro Tunnel, which is set to open later this year, received no funding from the previous federal Coalition government.
'If we were living in Sydney, well, they've had the benefit of federal Liberal governments that have gone 50-50 in their big infrastructure projects. Victorians haven't had that,' she said.
Then, Albanese returned to the theme, saying under the former Coalition government, Victoria received only 7-8% of national infrastructure spending, despite representing a quarter of Australia's population.
'Melbourne was Australia's fastest growing city, and they got completely neglected by three prime ministers who saw themselves as the prime minister for Sydney,' he said.
He said Dutton's comments on Monday that he would move into Sydney's Kirribilli House rather than the Lodge in Canberra proved 'this Queenslander is going to be the prime minister for Sydney as well'.
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