In late 2017, the Victorian Labor Government completed a shady $6.7 billion deal with Transurban to build the West Gate Tunnel Project, which will see Transurban contribute $4.4 billion towards the cost in exchange motorists paying $15 billion in additional tolls on CityLink until 2045.
Former Premier Jeff Kennett described the deal as “absurd” and claimed Transurban had “the government in their pocket”:
Toll road operator Transurban will reap an estimated $15 billion in additional tolls until 2045 in return for coughing up $4.4bn to help fund the Andrews government’s $6.7bn West Gate Tunnel project…
Former premier Jeff Kennett criticised the deal as “absurd” and slammed the government for forging ahead with Transurban despite never putting the $6.7bn deal to tender.
“Transurban is a very good company and very, very clever, but they’ve clearly got the government in their pocket,” Mr Kennett said…
Whereas several transport experts also sounded the alarm over the deal (see here and here).
With this background in mind, the Victorian parliament is set to vote through the bill to extend CityLink’s tolls for 10 years:
A bill to extend tolls on CityLink for 10 more years will be introduced to parliament this week to pay for a new Transurban-operated toll road in Melbourne’s west.
Motorists will pay tolls on CityLink until at least 2045, to help pay for the $6.7 billion West Gate Tunnel, if the bill is passed…
Yet another win for private monopoly Transurban, but another loss for ordinary Melbournians. And this has all come about because the Victorian Government is desperately trying to build infrastructure to keep pace with the federal government’s mass immigration ‘Big Australia’ ponzi.
