Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will pledge $2.57 billion towards Victorian infrastructure in the federal budget, which will mark the final death knell for the controversial East West Link.
Albanese and Infrastructure Minister Catherine King will today announce that the October 25 budget will include $330 million in road upgrades for Victoria.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will make the infrastructure commitments on Sunday.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
This will include $150 million towards the Camerons Lane interchange at Beveridge on the Hume Freeway, $125 million for the second stage of the Barwon Heads Road duplication, and $57 million for the construction of the Ison Road Rail overpass bridge in Werribee.
The budget will also include $2.2 billion for the Suburban Rail Loop in Melbourne, which was committed to during the election.
Albanese and King will declare the death of “zombie” projects that the previous Coalition government still had on the books, including the East West Link in Melbourne and the Perth Freight Link.
The East West Link had for many years been supported by the Coalition at the state and federal level but opposed by the Andrews government.
Albanese said the federal budget was “about making journeys quicker, but also making sure Victorians can get home to their families safely”.
“Sound and planned infrastructure investment in Victoria creates jobs, builds opportunity and unlocks economic growth and productivity for our cities and our regions,” he said.
Albanese will seek to mark a stark contrast with the previous government, which he claims “sidelined, ignored and then stacked the Infrastructure Australia Board with political appointments”.
“Through our first budget, my team is getting on with the job of delivering projects in consultation with Infrastructure Australia and all levels of government to make a real difference to the lives of Australians,” he said.
King said investing in the Suburban Rail Loop was a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape the way Victoria grows”.
“Victoria is projected to grow to 11.2 million residents by 2056 and Greater Melbourne to reach around 9 million people – a similar size to London today,” she said.
“This visionary project is needed to keep Victoria moving in the face of this expected growth.”
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