Mulder mulls infrastructure challenges By Leon Gettler
Victoria’s new Minister for Public Transport and Roads, Terry Mulder, knows that he has a big job ahead of him. The need for new infrastructure investment is acute, the budget’s capacity is limited – and even once the decision is made, new projects will take time to come onstream. Expectations from industry were running high; with a number of major projects announced by the former government – like the Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel – supposed to come to market in the near future. But a challenging budget has seen the Baillieu Government pause to take stock of where it is at, what it can afford – and where the state needs to go. ‘The previous government included projects in its transport plan that were unfunded,’ Mulder says. ‘A number of these unfunded projects are now under review, such as WestLink, or in early planning stages, such as the Melbourne Metro rail tunnel. ‘I am keen to see projects get moving, but competing priorities for project funding from the Commonwealth and a much tougher fiscal climate for Victoria means that some of these projects have a difficult funding future or will take a little longer. ‘The unfunded projects that were priorities for the former government also have to be reassessed in the development of our new Metropolitan Planning Study. We’ve got to take account of the projects that we committed to, like the Avalon Airport, Doncaster, Rowville and Melbourne Airport rail links. ‘Clearly, Victoria, like other states facing huge infrastructure demands, must look seriously at the role of the private sector and how it can assist in delivering much-needed projects. Victoria has a great record in partnering with the private sector in building city-changing infrastructure, and I am confident that 60
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we can continue to do this in the future. Given budget realities, I think the State Government has little choice,’ Mulder noted. A welcome development was Mulder’s recent recommitment to the massive Regional Rail Link. When the Coalition assumed office it found that the project was going to cost nearly $1 billion more because of escalations in costs for signalling and land acquisition. Just as challenging was Canberra’s decision to defer the payment of $500 million in federal funding as the Commonwealth reshuffled its own priorities in light of the Queensland and Victorian floods. Continued on page 62
There is no doubt that the project will provide massive benefits for the suburban and regional rail system...
Volume 2 Number 1
6/30/11 5:13 PM
