Latest news with #InfrastructureAustralia
ABC News
28-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Labor faces funding crossroads for Adelaide freight bypass ahead of state budget
It is estimated almost 500,000 trucks travel down Adelaide's South Eastern Freeway into South Australia's bustling metropolitan road network annually. Discussions about how to move this freight away from the city have swirled through communities surrounding the state's major freight routes for years. However, progress on such a concept has been harder to achieve. The potential for a bypass around Truro, a small town along the Sturt Highway which connects South Australia to Victoria, was assessed by the state government in the late 2000s. A South Australian Highway High Productivity Vehicles Freight Network Access project was then identified as a priority in 2016 by Infrastructure Australia. Momentum began to grow in 2021 when former Commonwealth and state governments committed to the project, until it was eventually canned in a federal infrastructure review in 2023, taking more than $202 million in funding off the table. Fast-forward to the recent federal election campaign and Adelaide's biggest freight thoroughfares sat in the state's most marginal electorates of Boothby and Sturt. It did not take long for a conversation to reignite, nor for a proposal for a Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass to become a cornerstone election promise, as both major parties jostled for votes. The freight bypass project is far more comprehensive than earlier proposals. The $1 billion plan promises to deliver a Truro bypass, duplication of the Swanport Bridge near Murray Bridge, and upgrades between Monarto and the Sturt Highway. And while both major parties seemed to agree the project was the way forward in starting to address the state's freight conundrum, there was one key difference. Federal Labor was willing to fork out 50 per cent of the money needed to fund the proposal, while the Coalition put a hefty 80 per cent on the table. Premier Peter Malinauskas remained tight-lipped on just how much money his government was willing to stump up, however he made it clear that he would welcome "better than a 50:50 split". "This is a national highway project, it's not a local metropolitan road, so we think that 50:50 should only be a baseline; we'd love to see it grow from there," he said in April. Two months on, Labor was emphatically returned to government, holding onto Boothby, taking hold of Sturt and recording a statewide swing of more than 5 per cent. And as the state government prepares to hand down its fourth budget — its last before the state election — SA Labor finds itself at its own crossroads. It recognises a need to build a bypass, but is it willing to commit to an equal split, or will Mr Malinauskas take the fight to Canberra to get a bigger slice of the pie? It is hard to find a more popular premier in Australia than Peter Malinauskas. He stormed to victory in 2022 with promises to fix the South Australia's hospital ramping crisis and not introduce new taxes. But despite ramping hours reaching its highest numbers ever under his watch, the premier has seized multiple opportunities to grow his popularity. From bringing the AFL Gather Round to South Australia, to the eleventh-hour rescue of the Whyalla steelworks, Mr Malinauskas has drawn a lot of attention to the state. He appeared alongside South Australian Labor senate candidates on corflutes during this year's federal election — a sign of his widespread appeal. Even former Liberal leader Peter Dutton complemented the premier at a pre-election function, calling him the "smoothest" in the country. However, the bypass challenge is shaping up a little differently for Mr Malinauskas. To see the "better" split he previously welcomed, he will need to call upon his Canberra counterparts to waive its current equal-share infrastructure funding policy. It is the same policy introduced after the review that promptly put the previous Truro bypass to rest and saw the end of 80 per cent federal contributions. The Malinauskas government has already announced it will partner 50:50 with the Commonwealth to deliver two major infrastructure projects in Adelaide, splitting a combined total of $330 million, ahead of its June budget. It remains to be seen whether a city freight bypass will follow suit. "The state government has said we will appropriately consider funding arrangements for all federal partnerships as part of our normal budget process," a SA government spokesperson said.
Sydney Morning Herald
11-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Timelines for swath of Victorian construction projects blow out
On the road network, the duplication of the Western Highway between Ballarat and Stawell still has no firm completion date despite being slated for 2021. The government's Big Build website says planning for the final section is still under way. Another project renewing sections of the Great Ocean Road, forecast to be completed this year, is expected to be four to six months behind schedule after already being pushed back from as far back as 2020. The Big Housing Build, a 2020 state government commitment to build 12,000 social and affordable homes over four years, is now forecast to be completed in 2028. The government says the $6.3 billion project will now deliver 13,300 social and affordable homes, with work on 10,100 complete or under way. A government spokesperson said the auditor-general's report was a 'snapshot in time' and information was provided 12 months ago. Other delays outlined in the report are no longer accurate and have not been included in this article. Loading 'Since then, works have progressed, with Victorians reaping the benefits from these vital major projects across the state,' the spokesperson said. Opposition major projects spokesman Evan Mulholland said the government's management of projects had become a 'slow-motion disaster'. 'Victorians pay the price with added costs and delayed projects because we have a government that rewards union thuggery instead of demanding accountability,' Mulholland said. Improvements to Victoria's male prison system capacity, first forecast for 2023, are also delayed and unlikely to stay within budget because of black mould infestations affecting hundreds of new beds at Barwon Prison in Lara and the Metropolitan Remand Centre in Ravenhall. The Department of Justice and Community safety is currently negotiating with the contractors of the prison project and argues the works were not completed to standard. Infrastructure Australia's market capacity report, published in December 2024, said investment in transport projects was falling as billions of dollars more in funding flowed to energy and housing projects. Chief executive Adam Copp said at the time that the nation's infrastructure ambitions were being challenged by skills shortages, stagnant productivity growth and the rising costs of materials. 'Construction materials on average cost around 30 per cent more than they did three years ago, and with ongoing skills shortages we simply don't have the people power we need to get the job done on time – our analysis shows 7 per cent of the pipeline, or $15 billion of planned construction work, has been hampered by project delays,' Copp said in the report. Loading Copp said projects would also shift into regional areas and northern Australia, which would bring other challenges in attracting workers and supplying materials. Roads Australia chief executive Ehssan Veiszadeh has previously warned of the impact of delays, particularly those linked to union action. The peak body's members reported that repeated construction delays and poorer working environments added 30 per cent to the total costs of projects. 'On major public infrastructure worksites, workplace safety has not only been undermined – it has been weaponised,' Veiszadeh said. 'Worksites have been shut down for spurious reasons, sometimes costing up to $5 million a day. Often industrial action has targeted critical works such as concrete pours, which can have a cost impact of tens of millions of dollars.' This masthead's Building Bad investigation has detailed allegations of serious misconduct across government sites over the past year, including allegations gangland-linked figures were receiving large payments from companies on publicly funded projects looking to gain favour with figures within the CFMEU.
The Age
11-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Timelines for swath of Victorian construction projects blow out
On the road network, the duplication of the Western Highway between Ballarat and Stawell still has no firm completion date despite being slated for 2021. The government's Big Build website says planning for the final section is still under way. Another project renewing sections of the Great Ocean Road, forecast to be completed this year, is expected to be four to six months behind schedule after already being pushed back from as far back as 2020. The Big Housing Build, a 2020 state government commitment to build 12,000 social and affordable homes over four years, is now forecast to be completed in 2028. The government says the $6.3 billion project will now deliver 13,300 social and affordable homes, with work on 10,100 complete or under way. A government spokesperson said the auditor-general's report was a 'snapshot in time' and information was provided 12 months ago. Other delays outlined in the report are no longer accurate and have not been included in this article. Loading 'Since then, works have progressed, with Victorians reaping the benefits from these vital major projects across the state,' the spokesperson said. Opposition major projects spokesman Evan Mulholland said the government's management of projects had become a 'slow-motion disaster'. 'Victorians pay the price with added costs and delayed projects because we have a government that rewards union thuggery instead of demanding accountability,' Mulholland said. Improvements to Victoria's male prison system capacity, first forecast for 2023, are also delayed and unlikely to stay within budget because of black mould infestations affecting hundreds of new beds at Barwon Prison in Lara and the Metropolitan Remand Centre in Ravenhall. The Department of Justice and Community safety is currently negotiating with the contractors of the prison project and argues the works were not completed to standard. Infrastructure Australia's market capacity report, published in December 2024, said investment in transport projects was falling as billions of dollars more in funding flowed to energy and housing projects. Chief executive Adam Copp said at the time that the nation's infrastructure ambitions were being challenged by skills shortages, stagnant productivity growth and the rising costs of materials. 'Construction materials on average cost around 30 per cent more than they did three years ago, and with ongoing skills shortages we simply don't have the people power we need to get the job done on time – our analysis shows 7 per cent of the pipeline, or $15 billion of planned construction work, has been hampered by project delays,' Copp said in the report. Loading Copp said projects would also shift into regional areas and northern Australia, which would bring other challenges in attracting workers and supplying materials. Roads Australia chief executive Ehssan Veiszadeh has previously warned of the impact of delays, particularly those linked to union action. The peak body's members reported that repeated construction delays and poorer working environments added 30 per cent to the total costs of projects. 'On major public infrastructure worksites, workplace safety has not only been undermined – it has been weaponised,' Veiszadeh said. 'Worksites have been shut down for spurious reasons, sometimes costing up to $5 million a day. Often industrial action has targeted critical works such as concrete pours, which can have a cost impact of tens of millions of dollars.' This masthead's Building Bad investigation has detailed allegations of serious misconduct across government sites over the past year, including allegations gangland-linked figures were receiving large payments from companies on publicly funded projects looking to gain favour with figures within the CFMEU.
The Guardian
01-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
What do Peter Dutton's proposed funding cuts really mean for Melbourne's long-awaited airport rail?
It's not often that a politician plans to cut infrastructure projects in an effort to win an election. But that's exactly what Peter Dutton did when he visited Victoria on Tuesday. The opposition leader promised to halt funding for the state government's Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) project and an upgrade at Sunshine station, then redirect some of the money towards the Melbourne airport rail link instead. The announcement sparked a warning from the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, who said commuters would be 'stranded at the platform' at Melbourne airport as a result. Meanwhile, Anthony Albanese said Dutton's plans revealed his intention to be the 'prime minister for Sydney'. So, what exactly did Dutton announce and what does this mean for the long-awaited airport rail line? Dutton on Tuesday announced that, if elected, he would pull $2.2bn of federal funding allocated to the SRL, describing it as an 'unfunded, cruel hoax of a project'. He also announced he would withdraw $2bn in federal funding from a proposed $4bn upgrade of Sunshine station and its surrounding rail yards. Dutton said the upgrade, which was jointly announced by the state and federal governments in February, was 'gold-plated' and could be scaled back. Instead, he has committed an additional $1.5bn in federal funds to the Melbourne airport rail link project, to be matched by a state Coalition government. (Victoria goes to the polls in November 2026). That leaves about $2.7bn, which Dutton said would go to other Victorian road and rail projects. In a media release, he floated 'extending the Frankston line to Langwarrin and Baxter, duplicating Donnybrook Road and planning for the extension of the Upfield line in Melbourne's north' as possible projects it would invest in instead. The SRL is key to the Victorian Labor government's long-term vision for the state's public transport system. While the early work has only begun on the first stage of the loop – SRL East – a 26km stretch of tunnels between Cheltenham and Box Hill, it is eventually meant to travel from Box Hill to Melbourne airport via Sunshine and then on to Werribee. There is no completion date for the later stages of the project but it expects tunnelling to begin on SRL East next year and completion by 2035. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter The Victorian government has committed about $9.3bn for SRL east while the Albanese government pledged $2.2bn at the last federal election, which has been approved after an assessment by Infrastructure Australia. The state is seeking an additional $9.3bn from the commonwealth, although an Infrastructure Australia report released last week recommended that the federal government halt further funding until an updated cost-benefit analysis is produced. It said the Victorian government should prepare an 'exit strategy' should the project prove unfeasible. Dutton has called the SRL a 'pipe dream,' claiming that it is a project 'everyone knows would never be delivered' and should be halted. Dutton said that some of the planned upgrades to Sunshine station, which were designed to allow a future connection to the SRL line, would not be needed if the loop does not go ahead. It is for this reason he has proposed cutting funding for the station's redevelopment. But both the Victorian and federal Labor governments say that the $2bn in federal funding for Sunshine station is crucial to delivering not just the SRL but also Melbourne airport rail. According to a Victorian government factsheet, the upgrade will turn Sunshine into a 'super hub' by creating capacity for 40 trains an hour to travel through the station. This includes via two new platforms for additional services for the growing suburbs of Melton and Wyndham Vale and a regional platform for more services on the Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat lines. It would also create space to allow for a new rail line to Melbourne Airport and the electrification of the Melton Line – both long-awaited infrastructure projects. Allan said pulling funding from Sunshine station would undermine the Melbourne airport rail link and 'leave train travellers stranded at the platform,' particularly those from the regions. 'Building Sunshine is all about making sure regional communities can connect into AirportRail, and it sends a very loud message to the Melton community that you can forget about electrification under a Peter Dutton government,' Allan said. Victoria's transport infrastructure minister Gabrielle Williams and Brimbank mayor Thuy Dang said the Sunshine upgrades and the airport rail are interdependent and should proceed together to deliver maximum benefit for both local residents and visitors. 'We simply cannot have one without the other,' Dang said. Albanese said the proposal was proof Dutton was 'not ready for government'. 'Sunshine station is about access to the airport. It's about making sure that people in Ballarat and Bendigo and Geelong and parts of Melbourne can get to the airport,' the prime minister said. 'It's a part of the airport rail link, it's part of the Suburban Rail [Loop] as well. It's how it all fits together.' His infrastructure minister, Catherine King, was more blunt. She said the Sunshine works and Melbourne Airport Rail Link were 'one project'. 'Without the Sunshine precinct being upgraded, Melbourne airport rail is dead,' King said. At Allan's press conference, the premier refused to say whether she would sign any further contracts for SRL before the 3 May federal election. But she noted Metro Tunnel, which is set to open later this year, received no funding from the previous federal Coalition government. 'If we were living in Sydney, well, they've had the benefit of federal Liberal governments that have gone 50-50 in their big infrastructure projects. Victorians haven't had that,' she said. Then, Albanese returned to the theme, saying under the former Coalition government, Victoria received only 7-8% of national infrastructure spending, despite representing a quarter of Australia's population. 'Melbourne was Australia's fastest growing city, and they got completely neglected by three prime ministers who saw themselves as the prime minister for Sydney,' he said. He said Dutton's comments on Monday that he would move into Sydney's Kirribilli House rather than the Lodge in Canberra proved 'this Queenslander is going to be the prime minister for Sydney as well'.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Exit strategy' call amid doubt over rail loop benefits
Fresh doubt has been cast on the cost of a major infrastructure project that will take decades to complete as an assessment found its benefits had been "overstated". An Infrastructure Australia report on Melbourne's Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) urged the state government create an "exit strategy" in case the orbital train line cannot be delivered. It called on the Victoria government to release up-to-date costings as the $34.5 billion price tag for the first section of the line from Cheltenham to Box Hill, known as SRL East, was calculated in 2020 before construction costs soared. "Based on the information provided, we have low confidence in the cost estimate for SRL East, presenting a major risk to the SRL East project and the SRL Program as a whole," the report says. The proposed 90km orbital rail loop is intended to run from Cheltenham in Melbourne's southeast to Werribee in the outer west via the airport at Tullamarine. It's due to be completed in four stages over several decades. The Victorian government is relying on the Commonwealth to fund one third of SRL East and so far it has handed over $2.2 billion. The report found the economic benefits of the first two sections had been "overstated" and calls for more rigorous assessment to justify why the rail line is a priority for the state. The independent statutory body also urged the federal government to hold off committing more money until Victoria hands over further analysis, updated costings and financial documents including its funding strategy. Suburban Rail Loop Minister Harriet Shing said the state government was working with Infrastructure Australia but did not expressly commit to providing the requested information. She said the project was within the expected price band and the government stood by the loop after taking it to two state elections. "To be really clear, the Infrastructure Australia report is the basis upon which the recommendation occurred to release $2.2 billion (from the federal government)," Ms Shing told reporters. "As we deliver long-term projects an orbital rail loop around the city, we will see benefit, not just for the people who immediately access the benefits of living and working closer to rail." Opposition major projects spokesman Evan Mulholland described it as a "damning assessment" and urged the government to halt construction and review contracts immediately. "This is sobering reading, it's a blistering assessment of (Premier) Jacinta Allan's vanity project," he told reporters. "It obliterates the SRL business and investment case that was cooked up back in 2020."
