Thursday, 18 August 2022

Suburban Rail Loop

Mr DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan—Leader of the Opposition) (18:16): (2076) This is an adjournment for the attention of the Minister for Transport Infrastructure but of interest to the Treasurer too. Many this week have looked at the costings and issues around the Suburban Rail Loop with concern and horror. The Parliamentary Budget Office—and I do not take these as absolute gospel, but they are a genuine indication and an attempt to work out the costs—have worked out that stages 1 and 2 of the government’s circular rail proposal would cost $125 billion. They have also worked out that the operating costs would be another $75 billion, bringing it to $200 billion over the forward period. At the same time we know that the third part of it would also cost an enormous amount, perhaps $60 billion or $70 billion. That has not been costed and we could only work from the costings of the other two parts to get a rule-of-thumb-type estimate, but it too could easily take the total cost to $200 billion for the mere infrastructure provision.

At the same time as the Minister for Transport Infrastructure pooh-poohed the Parliamentary Budget Office—and they are working within the parameters that they have—the Minister for Transport Infrastructure would not release the details of the costs, and I put on the record that we have a number of FOIs with the Department of Transport and its plethora of agencies, which are all being frustrated and pushed back. The government does not want to release the details of the costs or other matters around this particular proposal. The truth is that it is not $50 billion, as the government promised and Jacinta Allan herself specifically said before 2018. She said the total cost of three parts was $50 billion. We now know it is at least $125 billion—likely $200 billion—for the project. But instead of pooh-poohing the Parliamentary Budget Office, she should simply release the full costings that the government has—all the detailed costings for all of these parts. When asked what the total cost was, she would not answer that question, so what I am asking for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure to do today is release the costs. We know with this government every project blows out. We know the government is secretive. They will not release the cost of the level crossing removals. We know the Metro Tunnel has blown out. We know the West Gate Tunnel is $5 billion over target. (Time expired)