The Albanese government’s multi-billion contribution to the controversial $200bn Victorian Suburban Rail Loop project could become the subject of further scrutiny after the matter was referred to the auditor-general.
Coalition infrastructure and transport spokesman Bridget McKenzie called on the Auditor-General Grant Hehir to investigate the Commonwealth’s $2.2bn spend allocated towards the eastern section of the mammoth state government project.
The 90-kilometre orbital rail line would travel from Frankston in Melbourne’s southeast bayside to Werribee in the western suburbs, linking every major railway line in Melbourne and its airport.
“The auditor-general needs to assess its merits so that we can understand the risk it poses to future Commonwealth budgets,” Ms McKenzie said on Thursday.
“At the moment, federal Labor is just signing a blank check for [Victorian Premier] Jacinta Allan and the Labor Party down here on a project that on any available public data doesn’t stack up.”
Now that it has received Ms McKenzie’s referral, the auditor-general will assess whether or not an investigation should be conducted.
Asked if the move was a political stunt given the Albanese government had an electoral mandate to fund the project given it had been their commitment at the 2022 federal election, Ms McKenzie said the promise was irrelevant.
“Just because you take something to the election doesn’t mean you have to do it, particularly if it’s not a good idea.”
Ms McKenzie claimed that the government had refused to put this project through a due diligence process on behalf of Commonwealth taxpayers.
“They ruled this project explicitly out of their infrastructure review … They also made moves in the Senate in the last week of parliament to make sure that Infrastructure Australia didn’t have to actually examine this project because of its size.
“At every step of the way, they’ve shielded this project from adequate scrutiny.”
Ms McKenzie said the $2.2bn of Commonwealth funds could be better spent on other priorities.
A scathing report by the Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass released in early December said the taxpayers could “reasonably question” the benefits of the project after it was created with “excessive secrecy”.
The report also criticised the extensive use of consultants, including embattled firm PwC, to justify the business case for the project.