Victorian Treasurer uses Infrastructure Australia support to push for more federal funding
July 16, 2012
Infrastructure Australia (IA) has backed the Victorian Government’s plan to build an east-west road connection in Melbourne and has provided a recommendation funding in its annual progress report.
Victorian Treasurer Kim Wells says the recommendation to State and Federal Governments has added weight to the state’s call for Commonwealth funding.
“The Coalition Government is driving public and private infrastructure investment, with a record $5.8 billion investment in infrastructure this financial year,” Wells says.
“Our efforts are being hampered by the Gillard Labor Government which made no new infrastructure investment in Victoria in this year’s Federal Budget.
“Despite a lack of support from the Commonwealth, we are pushing ahead with the development of a business case for East West Link and are well advanced with the preliminary technical investigations that began in May this year.”
Drilling work to develop a rock profile for the section of the project commenced last Friday and work at seven sites along the Eastern Freeway has already been carried out.
Wells believes the Federal Government is reluctant to commit funding to the project because of opposition from the state Labor leader Daniel Andrews.
“It’s not surprising the Commonwealth is yet to commit a cent to the East West Link when Daniel Andrews and the State Labor Party have actively opposed the project.
“Daniel Andrews has called East West Link a ‘grand hoax’, while Labor MPs Richard Wynne, Tim Pallas and Labor’s candidate for the Melbourne by-election Jennifer Kanis have been outspoken about their opposition to the project.
“Julia Gillard must ignore the opposition of Daniel Andrews and the State Labor Party who clearly don’t care about the jobs and investment this project will bring to Victoria.”
