Vic govt claims $19b hole in ALP policy

The government claims Victoria will be left with a $19 billion budget hole by Labor's transport plans, but the opposition says the figures are wrong.

Victorian Labor's transport policies are underfunded and will leave the state with a $19 billion budget black hole, the state government claims.

Treasurer Michael O'Brien says the policies will cost at least $22.7 billion, rather than the $17.8 billion Labor claims and only $4 billion has been identified to fund the projects.

Labor's transport plans include public transport and road investment and removing 50 level crossings.

Mr O'Brien said Labor had learnt nothing from funding blowouts on major projects when it was in government.

"Daniel Andrews and Labor have shown yet again that Victorians simply cannot trust Labor to manage money or properly cost major projects," he said.

"This is the same wooly thinking that brought Victorians other Labor major project disasters such as myki [transport smart card] and the desalination plant."

Shadow Treasurer Tim Pallas said as Mr O'Brien did not claim the figures came from the Department of Treasury and Finance they could only be assumed they were party political.

"There is neither $19 nor $23 billion worth of promises in these projects, that's the fallacy," he said.

"Why is it that the government continues to produce ridiculously inflated figures. This is not a case so much of the government hyper inflating figures, but of a treasurer and a government hyper ventilating."

Mr Pallas said the projects would be funded through the sale of the Port of Melbourne, money from the Better Roads Victoria funding and tolling the exits ramps on the West Gate distributor.


2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


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