Victorians will not benefit from Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's pledge to help fund the East West Link if he wins government, Victorian Labor says.
State Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews says the federal coalition's only priority for Victoria is an $8 billion tunnel that won't solve traffic woes.
But the Victorian government says its project, which will link the Eastern and Tullamarine freeways, will ease congestion and lift productivity.
Mr Andrews said the East West Link project does nothing for traffic congestion and will defer every other worthy project to the backburner for decades.
"In lockstep with Denis Napthine, (Tony Abbott) really has one priority for our state, and that's an $8 billion tunnel - $1 million a metre - that won't fix congestion and knocks off every other important priority across the state for decades," he told reporters on Monday.
But Premier Denis Napthine says Mr Abbott's policies, including the $1.5 billion he has committed to help build the project, would make a real difference for Victorians.
"The East West Link is a congestion busting, productivity and job creating piece of infrastructure that'll improve the quality of life for Melburnians and Victorians," he told reporters.
The Victorian government will sign contracts for the state's biggest road project just eight weeks before the November 2014 state election.
Labor is yet to back the project at a federal level, and has instead backed the construction of the Melbourne Metro rail tunnel.
Dr Napthine has welcomed the federal government's $200 million car industry assistance package, saying a 100 per cent target for Australian-made cars for Commonwealth fleets was a policy he and the South Australian premier put to the Commonwealth months ago but it fell on deaf ears.
"It's also a bit hypocritical and a bit rich for Kevin Rudd to pretend to be the champion of the car industry when his fringe benefit tax changes are damaging the car industry right across Australia," he said.
Mr Andrews had not seen details of the federal package but was generally supportive.
"If they're an Australian car, chances are it's a Victorian car. That's good for jobs, it's good for growth, but most of all it's good for a diverse economy," he said.
