From a federal promise for more cash for the Suburban Rail Loop to safety concerns around the West Gate Tunnel, the spotlight has been well and truly on Victoria’s infrastructure agenda over the weekend.
The Victorian government was forced to again defend the safety of the West Gate Tunnel as thousands of Melburnians took a first-hand look at the new multi-billion dollar piece of infrastructure.
Meanwhile, at a joint media appearance by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Jacinta Allan, the government revealed the Metro Tunnel major rail project will open on November 30 — a week earlier than previously announced.
Mr Albanese also revealed next year’s budget would supply more cash for the mammoth Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) project.
Mr Albanese defended the SRL — the first stage of which has been costed at more than $34 billion — saying it would “benefit the entire network and the entire city of Melbourne”.
“We can confirm that there will be additional money in the budget of May of 2026,” he said.
When pressed, the prime minister did not provide further detail about how much would be allocated.
“You’ll have to wait and see for the budget”, he said.
“We have budgets for a reason.”
Mr Albanese said the extra money coming from the federal government would be on top of more than $9 billion already pledged towards the project, including $5 billion for the Melbourne Airport Rail section, $2 billion for the Sunshine Station section and $2.2 billion for the early works on Suburban Rail Loop East.
State opposition MP James Newbury criticised the government for being in a “very, very dire financial state” and said Victoria did not have enough money to pay for the SRL project.
“We can’t afford it, so a premier and a prime minister saying one day they might have some money to pay for something, I mean, frankly, that’s worth nothing,” he said.
