Anybody hoping that the Albanese Labor Government would be better on infrastructure waste than the former Coalition Government should be sorely disappointed. Because its spin surrounding the federal government’s $2.2 billion contribution to Victorian Labor’s Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) boondoggle is textbook political pork.
Recall that the $125 billion SRL project was announced as a shock-and-awe ‘announceable’ in the run-up to the previous State Election amid voter concerns about excessive population growth, as well as to give the appearance that the Government had the situation under control.
The SRL was never submitted for assessment by Infrastructure Australia or Infrastructure Victoria. There was no business case conducted before its announcement. And Victoria’s transport department wasn’t even told about the plan for fear that it would attempt to block the project from within government.
