Victorian Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews will push for federal funding for public transport, despite previous knock-backs from the prime minister.
Labor's Melbourne Metro Rail tunnel plan needs federal money, but Prime Minister Tony Abbott has repeatedly said he will fund roads, not rail.
Mr Andrews says if Labor wins government he will put a well-argued case to Mr Abbott for Victorian public transport.
"If you want to be the infrastructure prime minister, there's plenty of work to get on with in Melbourne," Mr Andrews told ABC radio on Wednesday.
He said he would work with the prime minister and fight for Victoria's interests.
"I will never cuddle up to Tony Abbott. I will stand up to him when that is the appropriate thing to do," he said.
Mr Abbott has given $1.5 billion to the state government to fund the East West Link road tunnel project, but has said that money would have to be returned if the road was not built under Labor.
Mr Andrews said if Labor won the November 29 election it would not build the East West Link and would sit down with land owners whose properties had been compulsorily acquired.
"If the project's not going to go ahead if Labor's won - and it won't be if we have won on the 29th of November - then they may well want to move back into the home that they were effectively forced out of," Mr Andrews said.
If built, the $6.8 billion East West Link first stage will connect Melbourne's Eastern Freeway with the CityLink toll road in the city's north, removing traffic congestion from local roads.
"I have different priorities: improve the local roads people drive every day, get rid of the level crossings people get stuck at every day and deliver the best possible public transport system. That's how we will deal with congestion," Mr Andrews said.
